Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will speak briefly to the group.

In principle, when a notice is published in respect of a proposed by-law it should have already been screen. We do not want to see by-laws published where there is a 90 period and there is information missing. We would expect that if Waterways Ireland is publishing by-laws, it would have already ensured that all of the necessary screenings and checks are taking place. We certainly should not be relying on members of the public to express concern, to ask for a review or to ask that these obligations would be met because in many cases it will not be feasible within a 90 day period to get the necessary information. It is a practical amendment. If the Minister, for example, indicated that she wanted to include it anyway, I am sure we might not even need to press it. We will have the opportunity to see if that is the case. That would be useful.

I recognise my colleague has a similar amendment in respect of birds. This may be an area where the Minister can indicate that she would plan to ensure that this is a necessary prerequisite on Waterways Ireland before it brings a proposal to the public and opens a 90 day period for consultation. I recognise and appreciate that the Minister indicated she is open to that 90 day period rather than the previously proposed 21 day period. It is an improvement.

I will not speak to all of the amendments in this area. I recognise there has been some engagement. We will be watching closely and hoping that many of our other amendments will be reflected by the Department on Report State due to the Minister's contact now with groups such as the canal users, but there are a few amendments which may need to be pressed because they are important points of principle.

In respect of amendment No. a1z, Senator Craughwell has a proposal, which I strongly support, which states that it is not enough that notice of a proposed by-law should be published. It is important that a local authority should be directly communicated with in writing to be informed that a by-law will impact on its local area. I imagine there will be support across the House. Many of us across the House have contact with local authorities. It is a reasonable request that if Waterways Ireland is bringing in a by-law, it would write to the local authorities in the area which will be affected by the by-law and simply notify them of it so that they have an opportunity to act in the 90 days.

I will skip through to another one, which is amendment No. 1ad. Given the new authorities and the creation of new by-laws, if persons are approached by an authorised officer and informed that he or she is in breach of by-laws or laws in respect of the canals, the persons should be immediately informed of and shown what by-law they are in breach of or in danger of breaching. These are pragmatic requests. The reasons they are the ones we intend to press, unless of course the Minister indicates to directly absorb them into the Bill, is because they are important principles. The amendment states that an authorised officer should be able on request to offer or show physically the by-law - it may be as simple as a booklet. They should be able to show somebody the by-law which he or she is in breach of. It is a simple and appropriate amendment. In terms of any due process of law, it is very reasonable that a person who is told he or she is breaking a law be told what law the person is breaking and that the person is able to see it. It is simply that they would present a hard copy of the by-law. It is not enough to be told one is breaking a law and to go and check it on the website later. One needs to be able to see it, there and then.

In terms of amendment No. 1ae, this is another crucial and important point. It is in respect of the new by-laws. There are considerable powers in respect of by-laws being given to Waterways Ireland. We have a reasonable proposal here - we would be happy to work with the Department if it has a counter suggestion which is similar and achieves the same policy intent - that Waterways Ireland should, every 36 months, review its by-laws with a specific focus on the new by-laws that have been introduced in the past three years. They should review how these new by-laws are working and whether there are any unintended consequences and they should hold a public consultation so that they can assess the effect, positive or negative, of the by-laws introduced, and that public consultation should take place during the open season. Of course, what nobody here wants is a situation whereby a by-law is brought in in October, November or December and it is only in the following summer season, in June, July and August, that is the peak tourism season, where we see the effect of the by-law and maybe some inadvertent consequences. This ensures that we are able to ensure that by-laws that are put in place are reviewed and tested and that we all can learn and benefit from assessing their impact.

One last amendment is important. Proposed by Senator Norris, it is amendment No. 1af. Waterways Ireland can, in addition to producing by-laws with the 90 day provision that we have heard, add ancillary provisions it deems appropriate. We do not want to see a by-law the interpretation of which extends at great length to mean all kinds of different things and that we have one by-law with seven subsections that get added at a later stage. Every new proposal should come through with the same kind of robust public engagement - the 90 day consultation for which the Minister has rightly allowed.