Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for his reply. I am pleased that he responded so promptly to the communication from the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. I am sure the Minister would agree that Waterways Ireland has tremendous potential for both sides of the Border. It is in charge of a very important asset, the administration of our lakes, rivers and canals. Does the Minister agree that this cross-Border body has been continually dogged by controversy since its institution? It is rapidly reaching the stage where there may be a danger of a complete breakdown between the northern and the southern elements of the organisation. Waterways Ireland is becoming a regular topic for discussion not only in this Parliament, but also in other parliaments of these islands.

Does the Minister further agree that serious allegations made with regard to bullying in the organisation have been upheld? There has been malpractice in terms of appointments and mismanagement of the organisation, which could do serious damage to North-South relations. Appointments to senior positions that should have been publicly advertised for open competition proceeded without adherence to the procedure in spite of undertakings given in Stormont in 2002 that senior appointments would be made by open competition involving public advertisement. Serious claims have been made of discrimination in these appointments on grounds of religion, politics and nationality, which would be disastrous if found to be true.

Can the Minister confirm if some of these more recent accusations are the subject of an investigation in Northern Ireland? I understand that one of the people who alleges discrimination has applied to the Fair Employment Tribunal there. In spite of the best efforts of Waterways Ireland, this case is being processed and heard at present. These are very serious accusations, which I have raised here on a number of previous occasions. While I understand the great potential of the organisation, being continually dogged by such controversies will do no service to us here or our people in Northern Ireland.

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