Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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795.To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government in view of the stated objectives of the Waterways Ireland Ten Year Plan 2024, and overall government policy regarding greener transport systems, if his attention has been drawn to efforts by Waterways Ireland to examine and explore the use of more environmentally beneficial vehicles and boats that make use of cutting edge green technologies, that are capable of providing water tours of a similar quality and type of those currently operated in the Dublin area (details supplied), which mainly use diesel powered vehicles which have no particulate abeyance systems and are several decades old; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[34241/24]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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Boat tours, including those operated by the company identified, are licensed by Waterways Ireland.

Waterways Ireland has confirmed that they are committed to environmental stewardship and the promotion of sustainable practices across their network. Their existing licensing framework for tour operators is flexible to accommodate various types of vessels, including those using alternative, more environmentally friendly propulsion systems. Applications for new businesses can be found on their website: www.waterwaysireland.org/contact-us/license-a-business

When evaluating license applications, Waterways Ireland already considers the potential environmental impact of proposed operations, largely focussed on the licensing and leasing of lands. However, vehicles with lower environmental impact could be viewed favourably in this assessment, subject to an internal review.

It should also be noted that Waterways Ireland is actively establishing pilot programmes around greening their fleet (e.g. Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil trial (HVO)) and have shared this information with their stakeholders resulting in Irish Boat Rental Association (IBRA) also migrating all their crafts to HVO. I am further informed that Waterways Ireland is open to working with interested operators to test and promote the use of environmentally friendly vehicles on their waterways.

In addition, Waterways Ireland is assessing their infrastructure to ensure it can support alternative fuel or electric-powered vessels, including the potential installation of charging points at key locations.