Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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473. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his Department has plans to conduct an audit of Waterways Ireland; if so, how long will this take; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35731/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Waterways Ireland is a North South Implementation Body established under the British Irish Agreement 1998 and operates under the overall policy direction of the North South Ministerial Council. It is funded by my Department and the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland.

As a North South Body, Waterways Ireland is audited jointly by the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Northern Ireland Audit Office.

The North South Ministerial Council on 12 May 2025 noted that Waterways Ireland’s 2024 Annual Report and Accounts have been submitted for audit to the Comptrollers and Auditors General in both jurisdictions. Once certified by the Comptrollers and Auditors General North and South, Waterways Ireland’s 2024 Annual Report and Accounts will be laid simultaneously before the Northern Ireland Assembly and both Houses of the Oireachtas. This has already been done for prior Annual Reports and Accounts of the Body up to and including 2023.