Sir, – I would like to express my concern at the current legislation being enacted in the Houses of the Oireachtas. I refer to Part 2 Canals (Section 7B) of the Heritage Bill, which if enacted, will interfere with an Irish citizen’s right to free movement and passage and personal privacy. The Bill, if passed, will give an organisation headquartered in a foreign jurisdiction, Waterways Ireland, the power to appoint officers who will have the right to stop, interrogate, direct and demand evidence of identity from any persons on canal property. These officers will also have permission to enter onto private property and take control of it without the owner’s consent. If these measures were being put in place to protect the population against international terrorism, they might be given some consideration, but to control leisure boating and activities on canal property, they are not only inappropriate but also draconian. – Yours, etc,
JIM O’RIORDAN,
Monkstown,
Co Dublin.