Results 561-580 of 1,043,061 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:Marc Ó Cathasaigh OR speaker:Pádraig Mac Lochlainn OR speaker:Catherine Murphy) in 'Committee meetings'

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: Waterways Ireland (4 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: Some of the stakeholders are people living on boats and they felt they were not consulted at all. Obviously, Waterways Ireland worked to terms of reference. Does it have a process for consultation with stakeholders? It is a valid complaint that they make. We got a lot of engagement at the time from people who felt Waterways Ireland was impenetrable.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: Waterways Ireland (4 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: Will Mr. Rowe explain the rationale for this? What do people get for the fees? If that was clear, it would be helpful.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: Waterways Ireland (4 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: They have gone up dramatically.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: Waterways Ireland (4 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: What if some do not require all of that?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: Waterways Ireland (4 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: I will come back in later.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: Waterways Ireland (4 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: It is unusual for us to get requests for people to come into the Public Gallery for the public accounts committee. There were quite a lot of people looking to come in today. It suggests there is less access in respect of a collaborative approach for people who live or have businesses on the canals. That speaks to a governance issue here. I just wanted to make that point. Regarding...

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: Waterways Ireland (4 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: It is Waterways Ireland's responsibility.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: Waterways Ireland (4 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: I just wanted to clarify that. Was there a business case produced for the KPMG report, and has that business case been published in advance of the rationale behind it? Is it possible to provide the committee with that?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: Waterways Ireland (4 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: Can we have a copy of that?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: Waterways Ireland (4 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: For the financial context of the charges, did Waterways Ireland look at, for example, pleasure boats? Did it look at the different needs and whether people require the multiplicity of services that are built into that package? What was the financial context? Was it required to keep Waterways Ireland with an income? What is the rationale?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: Waterways Ireland (4 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: When a financial organisation is asked to do a piece of work, it looks at the financial side, but there is very often a whole other side, and that is why-----

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: Waterways Ireland (4 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: Was that consultation in the form of "this is what we are proposing" or was it open? Very often, I have seen consultations where there is a list of them and it looks like there are many consultations, but meaningful consultation means that what is being heard is then embedded into the next version of the by-laws, for example.

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: Waterways Ireland (4 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: Why is there such dissatisfaction then?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: Waterways Ireland (4 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: Is control of congestion part of the pricing? Was that a consideration?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: Waterways Ireland (4 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: It strikes me that if there are people living and using the canals as navigation, that will increase the movements and the viability of the canal. It seems, however, that there is almost an intention to cap numbers using the canals. Does Waterways Ireland have a proposal for that? Does it have the numbers?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: Waterways Ireland (4 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: I will come back to one of those points in a few minutes. In a situation where there is a dispute and somebody does not pay the fees, the boats are towed to Shannon Harbour or some other location. They are then sold with a closed envelope approach. What is the income from that and is there transparency around it?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: Waterways Ireland (4 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: Regarding transparency, how do we see the outcome of this from a financial perspective? What are they sold for?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: Waterways Ireland (4 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: It would probably have more value to the individuals themselves. There has been some very good work done on the greenways for both the Royal and Grand Canals, both of which come through my constituency. I would be well aware of that. From Cope Bridge into the city, what is the plan for that and what is the impediment to that being progressed?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: Waterways Ireland (4 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: Are there impediments to achieving that?

Public Accounts Committee: Financial Statements 2022: Waterways Ireland (4 Jul 2024)

Catherine Murphy: While I would only observe from a distance, I always understood that when people wanted to go up and down the canals, they would manage the locks themselves. Why do they have to make an appointment, for example, to go in and out of the city?