asked the President of the Executive Council whether he will consider including the Grand Canal Company and all other companies controlling navigable inland waterways in the Saorstát within the jurisdiction of the railway tribunal.
WRITTEN ANSWERS. - RAILWAY TRIBUNAL AND CANALS.
As I stated in my speech on the Second Reading of the Railways Bill, the railway tribunal will have, in effect, much the same jurisdiction over inland waterways as over railways. The tribunal will exercise all the former powers of the Railway and Canal Commission in regard to canals and inland navigations. It will not actually fix charges of the Grand Canal, the Royal Canal, and the Shannon Navigation, which are controlled by orders issued by the Minister for Industry and Commerce, but the Bill provides that before revising such Orders the Minister shall refer the question for advice to the tribunal, and further provides that any rates granted by the amalgamated company which may be considered detrimental to inland navigations, may be varied or cancelled by the tribunal. For the purpose of dealing with these matters, the tribunal will include a member representing the Canal and Inland Navigation Companies and Authorities in the Saorstát, and a representative of the particular public interest concerned.