Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this legislation. The reason we are debating this legislation today is that it was guillotined in the House on a previous occasion. When the Minister replies, will he elaborate on how this flaw was picked up? Did somebody try to buy out his or her fee simple and as a consequence was the anomaly in the legislation found and the legislation found inadequate? Is that the reason for the urgency of the legislation? We have been given no reason for that.

Will the Minister give us some examples of the types of leases concerned here? Are they mainly farmland or residential, or what other type of property is involved? When I heard last night that this Bill was coming through the House today, I got a copy of the Waterways Ireland annual report to try to discover the type of property involved. A significant amount of the assets of Waterways Ireland pass through my old constituency of Longford-Roscommon and, particularly, my new constituency of Roscommon-south Leitrim through which the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell canal runs.

The only detail I could find in the 2002 report in the Library is a very brief comment relating to the significant amount of property which Waterways Ireland has and is trying to manage. I understand there are ongoing issues relating to the transfer of property in the North to the jurisdiction and control of Waterways Ireland. Will the Minister update us on that situation? The only information I could get from the annual report was that in 2002 there was an income of €48,838 from property, the only detail we have on the assets of Waterways Ireland. This is a substantial income considering that many of the properties in question would not have involved much maintenance over recent years.

The reason I wanted to speak on this legislation concerns the maintenance of properties under the control of Waterways Ireland. Many people are directly impacted by the lack of maintenance of properties under the jurisdiction of Waterways Ireland. Under the heading of the management and maintenance of waterways in the annual report, there is nothing about the maintenance of the waterways, which are the single largest asset and property under the control of Waterways Ireland.

The largest element of that property is the River Shannon, but no maintenance of that asset takes place. While some development has taken place over the years, some of which is mentioned in the annual report, this mainly relates to mooring spaces and marinas. In fairness, I compliment Waterways Ireland on that work because we need additional facilities.

Will the legislation have an impact on the rental of moorings or berths by Waterways Ireland, perhaps on a long-term basis, to particular individuals or companies? I know a substantial number of the private berths on the River Shannon are rented on a long-term basis to many of the cruiser companies. Is the same the case with Waterways Ireland? Naturally, there would not be a demand for those facilities during the winter months. Could a claim be brought in that regard under the current legislation prior to its amendment today?

I want to discuss the maintenance of the Shannon as an asset of Waterways Ireland because over recent years there has been considerable clogging up of the waterway, whether as a result of silt from Bord na Móna or otherwise. The problem is so serious that during the summer months we have to call on Deputy Cowley's emergency services on occasion to fish people out of Lough Ree or other parts of the Shannon because their boats have hit rocks. On one occasion the Air Corps had to come to the rescue because of a lack of day to day maintenance of the waterway.

It is critical that more focus is put on the maintenance of the assets of Waterways Ireland. Many people would be very critical of the fact that Meelick weir is not regularly maintained and this causes a huge back-up of water north of the weir and south of Athlone. They are also critical that the river channel is not maintained, which will have a significant impact in coming years on navigation of the river unless action is taken by Waterways Ireland to protect these State assets which are under its control but which appear to be ignored. They are ignored in the organisation's annual report, which is disappointing.

I hope we will see development of some of the assets under the control of Waterways Ireland. These properties and assets must be substantial if they generate an income of over €48,000. Some properties are rented out on long-term leases. I presume the legislation deals with properties held on long-term leases. Having read its annual report, Waterways Ireland is not up to speed regarding its assets in terms of numbers and control in this jurisdiction and Northern Ireland. Its assets need to be clarified and the body should outline a development plan to maintain and develop them to their potential. The development of the waterways network could make a major contribution to tourism.

Waterways Ireland, in promoting and developing its assets, could enter into joint development projects with private operators. The body will not have resources in the long term to develop many of these assets but it can, through public private partnerships and co-operation with private organisations, develop them. Given that the legislation addresses a number of anomalies, difficulties should not arise in this regard.

However, I have a major difficulty with the way Waterways Ireland maintains and develops our waterways as an asset. For example, the River Shannon is viewed as a boundary and not as an asset by all State bodies, including tourism boards and local authorities. The only organisation which can view the river as an asset other than the ESB is Waterways Ireland but it is not fulfilling its role to utilise and develop the river. One only has to compare the facilities on Lough Erne, in which substantial investment has been made over the past number of years, with those on Lough Ree and Lough Derg. Similar investment in waterways in this jurisdiction has not taken place. This must be examined. Waterways Ireland has major assets such as the canal at Lecarrow in Country Roscommon and other facilities at Portrun, County Roscommon. None of these has been developed by the body, which tends to wash its hands of the assets. Waterways Ireland is not prepared to lease these facilities on a long-term basis to a developer who would utilise them.

I hope the legislation can address current anomalies and be used by Waterways Ireland as a mechanism to enter into long-term agreements with private operators to develop amenities along the River Shannon. The organisation is not aware of the potential of these assets and how they can be fully utilised in the future.

I refer to another issue, which is outside the scope of the legislation.

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