Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 4 July 2024
Public Accounts Committee
Financial Statements 2022: Waterways Ireland
9:30 am
Mr. John McDonagh:
Part of the problem is that the by-laws are over 30 years old. They are out of date. If we were to take one simple number, such as the permit fee, it is at present €127, which at the time would have been £100. That is how long ago we are talking about. If that were inflated, it would probably be approximately €300 now. The impact is that with no by-laws in place and, let us say, no revisions every five years, with five times no revisions, suddenly we are trying to go from a position of 30 years-plus to now. That in itself, is a big step change for everybody and I accept that.