Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. Over the past number of years it has been a source of concern to me that there has been a decline in boat movements on some of our inland waterways. When the Minister of State has the opportunity to meet various representative bodies I am sure he will become aware of this issue. We want to ensure that we arrest the decline in the number of people using our waterways.

When infrastructure is used it needs ongoing investment and maintenance, including repairs to banks, weirs and jetties and dredging. We would also like cycle blueways to be developed, which are a relatively recent development. I would like the Minister of State and his Department to fight hard to provide the necessary funding to ensure that there is additional capital investment in inland waterways activities.

Waterways Ireland is an all-Ireland body and we are very fortunate that our waterways are under its remit. It would send a clear message on re-energising areas that have an all-Ireland remit if we show that we are anxious to develop inland waterways and realise their potential for the benefit of our people from a recreational point of view, increasing tourism and attracting more visitors to our country.

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