Vol. 531 No. 1
16 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht and the Islands if her attention has been drawn to the fact that many boats on the Shannon continue to flush their toilets directly into the river, causing pollution; if she will introduce legislation to ensure that this practice is discontinued; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1601/01]
The matter raised by the Deputy is now one to be dealt with by Waterways Ireland, a North-South implementation body for inland waterways established on 2 December 1999 on foot of the British-Irish Agreement and the supplementary Implementation Bodies Agreement signed in March 1999.
I am advised by Waterways Ireland that the discharge of waste matter into the navigation is dealt with under the Shannon Navigation (Construction of Vessels) By-Laws, 1994, which prohibit vessels from discharging polluting matter into the navigation. Waterways Ireland says that most boat-owners are in compliance with the regulations and that the inspector of navigation is liaising with the remainder to ensure compliance.
