Mr. Éanna Rowe:

We have looked at other jurisdictions. When we look at the boat traffic on the Shannon, it has remained static for approximately the past ten years. In fact, May and June this year are probably 3% up on those months last year. The market trends have changed dramatically. The user patterns have changed. Many people are taking short breaks rather than the two-week cruise hire break. The cruise hire industry itself has restructured. The number of boats that are registered on the Shannon has increased over the past 20 years from 6,000 boats to over 9,000 boats but the user patterns are different. Those private boats do not necessarily use our locks. If I have a boat in Killaloe which I use at weekends, I will stick to Lough Derg and I will not be using a lock. When we look at lock passage figures, they have certainly reduced.

The other thing I would say is that since Waterways Ireland was established, it has doubled the mooring capacity on the Shannon. There is still pressure on these moorings in certain locations on the Shannon. We have opened up new destinations for cruisers such as Lough Key Forest and Activity Park, with a 54-berth marina; Carrick-on-Shannon, with a 28-berth marina; Portumna Castle Harbour; and Connaught Harbour, with an additional 30 moorings, and they are all busy and all used. The issue really relates to the market trends having completely and fundamentally changed.

The final thing I will say is that the German-speaking market, Germany and Austria in particular, are crucial to the cruise hire sector. That market has not been performing well in the past two years. There are question marks over the economy in Germany which have meant people are not travelling. However, Tourism Ireland, in conjunction with Fáilte Ireland and ourselves, has undertaken marketing campaigns targeting that cruise hire sector and indeed we hope to see it grow again in the coming years.