Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 September 2023
96. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he can give an undertaking that all dealings with any unauthorised development coming under Waterways Ireland jurisdiction regarding the regularising of the said development will be done in an open and transparent manner and that no funding will be provided by Waterways Ireland to any unauthorised developers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41783/23]
View answerThe registration, licensing and operation of marinas is managed by Waterways Ireland, a North South body sponsored by my Department and the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland.
In 2021, Waterways Ireland established a dedicated land recovery and first registration team to research, lodge and register its property portfolio. As part of that process, Waterways Ireland is working on a strategy dedicated to alleged encroachments to ensure regularisation of same. This entails examining, evaluating and regularising all encroachments identified as part of the land recovery and first registration programme. The completion of this programme to secure the property portfolio transferred to Waterways Ireland from multiple bodies since its inception in 2000 will take a significant amount of time.
In respect of detailed information about specific aspects of this programme, arrangements have been put in place by all bodies under the aegis of my Department to facilitate the provision of information directly to members of the Oireachtas. This provides a speedy, efficient and cost effective system to address queries directly to the relevant bodies. The contact email address for Waterways Ireland is ceoffice@waterwaysireland.org.
