Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will come back to the Senator on it. We are regulating the use of the canals not the use of the boats.

In regard to Senator Craughwell's amendments Nos. 1j and a1k, these proposals overly limit the closing of navigation to emergency situations and does not take account of other reasons why a navigation can be closed, such as land drainage, flood management and control, when a loss of water occurs, when a vessel sinks or a need arises to protect workers etc.. Those are the times when it may be necessary to close a canal. Everybody wants to see the canals open. It is the purpose of Waterways Ireland to maintain the canals for the enjoyment of people. It is not its purpose to close canals, rather its purpose is to keep them open but there may be times when it is necessary to close them. It is often not practical or workable to give due notice before closure of the navigations, such as in emergency situations. What is provided for in the amendments would be restrictive in that regard.