Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Professor Collins for his opening statement and for taking on the role. I have a few things we might tease out a little. Professor Collins mentioned the report and the prognosis and that there is a set of prescriptions there and a number of actions to be taken. Some are priorities and are urgent. Have any of those been put in place yet? At what stage does Professor Collins expect the recommendations of the report will be fully in line?

How many staff are working in the organisation? What capacity does IFI have to do work internally? I know some aspects of the work is contracted out and there are consultants and various other agencies that have an involvement. Is there an intention to try to ensure more of the work can be done in house as the organisation develops?

Professor Collins mentioned how the focus has traditionally and naturally been, as the name suggests, on fishing and the waterways and the huge resource they are. However, there are also a number of other things such as the whole environmental context of it. The role our inland waterways has on the environment is very important and is something of which we need to have a proper analysis, particularly around invasive species and issues like that. Then there is drainage in many parts of the country. Sometimes there can be issues with flooding and this is something in which waterways have a crucial role to play. How does Professor Collins see that developing? How can we ensure there is co-operation between all the agencies to ensure that we do not run into the types of problems we have had in the past? In many parts of the country we get serious problems with flooding and we want to ensure we can try to resolve those and at the same time protect the waterways and the environment that they serve.