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OVER 100 LARGE developments on the River Shannon are unauthorised, have no licence to operate, and pay no fees to Waterways Ireland.
Some full-blown commercial developments, such as moorings, jetties or other hard structures put there by businesses operating along the Shannon lack proper planning permission, and are in direct competition with other businesses, who have followed the rules.
An Oireachtas committee heard this week that local and national authorities have been slow to take action despite being warned of issues.
CEO of Waterways Ireland John McDonagh was questioned about the unauthorised developments along the Shannon at the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) where he revealed that there are 430 “encroachments” and confirmed that 101 are deemed “major” large-scale unauthorised developments.
The committee heard that fees are collected from developments that have planning permission and a licence to operate, but Waterways Ireland does not collect any money from those set up without permission.
In addition, it was revealed that local authorities and Waterways Ireland have taken no legal action, the some councils have issued unauthorised development notices.
Instead, McDonagh said the agency is working to “regularise” the situation by carrying out research.
Committee chair Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley indicated he was flabbergasted by the responses, and questioned how much work Waterways Ireland has done with local authorities on these unauthorised hard structures and developments.
McDonagh replied: “We have not done an awful lot of work with the local authorities on the planning aspect.”
“Have you done any?” asked Stanley.
“No. The work we are doing is research on how many exist, where they exist, what the arrangements are,” said the Waterways Ireland boss.
Stanley questioned why inspections would take so long, stating that an audit could be carried out in a relatively short space of time. However, McDonagh said it was not as “simplistic” as that.
The PAC chair also questioned why there was not more urgency, particularly when the agency is running at a deficit and in light of proposals that houseboat dwellers will face a fee increases of 700% in some marinas.
The chair said he had a number of complaints about developments, stating he was concerned “shag all” has been done about them.
Why has the same urgency not been given to large-scale operations without licence, permit, fees or planning permission? Zero. Nothing. It is a remarkable situation.
Operations Manager Éanna Rowe said Waterways Ireland has been in contact with all ten local authorities along the Shannon, but clarified that no legal action had been taken for breach of or lack of planning permission.
Questions were also asked about Waterways Ireland’s intention if it were entering into various agreements with some of the large-scale developments and whether there would be non-disclosure agreements.
Linda Megahey of Waterways Ireland said from a legal perspective, when the agency goes into some of these agreements with large-scale developments, there would be an onus that the documents are public.
“Other agreements with the smaller ones would be private. We have standard contracts and there is specificity around location, size and different things, but none of them are non-disclosure agreements. We do not enter confidentiality agreements,” she said.
Fianna Fáil TD Paul McAuliffe said Waterways Ireland has an obligation to the people they are charging fees from “because they may have a competitor operating at a lower cost base because of Waterways Ireland’s inaction”.
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Dublin is dying, thanks to greed and an unimaginative government.
@Kevin Dreamlive: little more recent than 1913. (the Federal reserve is a private entity & the tender was up for renewal/open in June 2020.,.
More accurately the current system is a result of the Bretton Woods agreement of 1944.
This, what we are witnessing is an intentional trlargetting of small & medium sized business (mom & pop type businesses) with a view to reducing choice for people. It is all by design.
Soon, we will have 1 chain of restaurants (not fast food, regular restaurants) owned by 1 entity.
Wait & see
@Freda Peeple: for a city thats dying its extremely busy. Bars and restaurants open and close all the time, half the bars I used to go to 20 years ago are gone and have been replaced by something else, it’s just the way of the industry, ups and downs.
@Kevin Dreamlive: What alternative monetary system would you like to see adopted?
@eoin fitzpatrick: people drinking far less nowadays too, which is to be welcomed
@Freda Peeple: it’s only going to get worse not only in Dublin but all over Ireland it’s been coming for a long time so called government haven’t a clue how to run Ireland
@Alan Moloney: restaurants close due to high menu prices, high costs, high rent, staff demanding higher wages cos they know they can move, bad food and / or poor service. The Govt doesn’t run restaurants ! You can also blame the consumers whom won’t support their local restaurants. Historically, and long before this Govt, most restaurants don’t last 3 years. So get out and support your local restaurant this week.
@Kevin Dreamlive: There are lots of good reasons that the gold standard was abandoned, the simplest of these being that you have almost no flexibility in relation to either fiscal or monetary policy; so during a recession a government can’t borrow to pay wages or build infrastructure. This would lead to a much more pronounced (or ‘pro-cyclical’) boom and bust cycle. The current fiat money system may certainly have a lot of flaws, but using the gold standard instead would be even worse.
Cryptos are not backed by anything at all other than ‘confidence’ and would be even worse again. Cryptos aren’t money in any case and are functionally useless as money given that they satisfy none of the three tests of what is needed for something to be used as money (unit of account, store of value and means of exchange).
@Freda Peeple: and due to dire city council and a judicial system that doesn’t punish and a lack of effective policing
@Alan Moloney: go out and run for election then
@Kevin Dreamlive: While you raise some valid points, you make several unsupported leaps in logic regarding the impacts on small businesses. While the abandonment of the gold standard and shift to fiat currency had significant economic effects, these events are weakly related to small business closures, if at all.
On the contrary, the shift away from the gold standard provided central banks with more flexibility in monetary policy, which can be beneficial to small businesses, depending on economic conditions (Eichengreen, 1992). For example, during recessions, central banks can more easily expand the money supply to stimulate growth and support small businesses under a fiat system; increasing access to credit and boosting consumer demand.
Indeed, your assertion that the 2008 financial crisis bailouts and quantitative easing programs were harmful to small businesses is completely contradicted by the evidence.
While there are some valid criticisms of how these policies were implemented, they demonstrably helped prevent the closure of many small businesses, who did not have the ability to survive the recession and the banks’ reluctance and indeed inability to lend (Bernanke, 2015).
Furthermore, your claim that the 2020 COVID-19 stimulus was the “final nail in the coffin” for small businesses is completely wrong. Many economists point out that the stimulus measures prevented widespread small business failures during the unprecedented economic shock (Chetty et al., 2020). While the long-term impacts are still being studied, characterising the stimulus as harmful to small businesses is not supported by the current evidence.
Finally, your conclusion that only “debt default or hyperinflation” remain as options is also wrong. While high government debt and inflation are concerns, there are many policy options that prevent the catastrophe you appear to envisage (Blanchard, 2019) such as:
1. Gradual fiscal consolidation: Governments can implement measured spending cuts and revenue increases over time to reduce deficits without causing severe economic shocks.
2. Growth-oriented policies: Promoting economic growth through targeted investments, regulatory reform, and productivity enhancements can help countries “grow out” of debt over time.
3. Debt restructuring: Countries can negotiate with creditors to modify debt terms, potentially extending the time required to pay back loans and/or adjusting interest rates, without defaulting.
4. Monetary policy adjustments: Central banks can fine-tune interest rates and other tools to balance inflation concerns with economic growth objectives.
5. International cooperation: Coordinated efforts among countries can address global imbalances and promote stability.
6. Structural reforms: Addressing underlying economic inefficiencies can improve long-term fiscal sustainability.
7. Tax reform: Modifying tax structures can potentially increase revenues and rive down depth without stifling growth.
8. Public-private partnerships: Leveraging private sector resources for public projects can reduce government spending needs.
These options demonstrate that policymakers have a wide range of tools at their disposal to prevent defaulting and hyperinflation.
Your view seems to assume that current economic trends will continue unabated, leading inevitably to crisis. However, history shows that economies are dynamic and adaptive. Policies can be adjusted, new technologies can boost productivity, and unexpected positive developments can change economic trajectories, e.g. look at Denmark with Ozempic and Wegovy.
“Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are fattening up Denmark’s economy and helped it dodge a recession last year.”
It’s also worth noting that most economist believe moderate levels of inflation, when managed properly, are not necessarily a bad thing; that some inflation can be beneficial for economic growth and debt management (Krugman, 2014).
While it’s important to be aware of economic risks, characterising the situation as having only two extreme outcomes is an oversimplification, it ignores the complex realities of economic policy and the many tools availably to policymakers, that I listed. In summary, while you raise some valid historical points about changes in monetary policy, you make many unsupported claims.
References:
Bernanke, B.S. (2015). The Courage to Act: A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath. W.W. Norton & Company.
Blanchard, O. (2019). Public Debt and Low Interest Rates. American Economic Review, 109(4), 1197-1229.
Bordo, M.D. and Eichengreen, B. (1993). A Retrospective on the Bretton Woods System: Lessons for International Monetary Reform. University of Chicago Press.
Chetty, R., Friedman, J.N., Hendren, N., Stepner, M., and the Opportunity Insights Team. (2020). The Economic Impacts of COVID-19: Evidence from a New Public Database Built Using Private Sector Data. NBER Working Paper No. 27431.
Eichengreen, B. (1992). Golden Fetters: The Gold Standard and the Great Depression, 1919-1939. Oxford University Press.
Krugman, P. (2014). Inflation Targets Reconsidered. Draft paper for ECB Sintra Conference.
Pubs and bars and clubs are a thing of the past, far too expensive
@Fintan Pox: maybe for you on the dole. but not for people that work.
@Niall English: if you have the money for greedy publicans, then more power to you, and them
@Fintan Pox: Exactly people drinking far too much and snorting cocaine all the time in these places. It is not pleasant
@Sean Money: I totally agree, when I go for a coffee, I don’t want to see cokeheads
@Fintan Pox: ludicrous view. As you hand over hundreds of percent in mark up on coffee to said publicans
@Niall English: We’ve a household income of over 130K a year, no kids and no mortgage. The times I go on the lash in Dublin have been massively curtailed, partly because I’m an old codger, partly because there is less Garda/Police presence than a small market town in the South East of England on a Tuesday afternoon but the price is a massive factor. Maybe you’re more successful than me or maybe you’re locked after two pints but Dublin City is an absolute rip off.
@Mark Anthony Savage: Cornwall is the best country in Britain.
I really don’t get the 9% versus 13% vat thing that they keep going on about. How can 4% lead to such a level of closures? Just pick an average price of say €120 for an evening meal + drinks for a couple in city centre. Why would the €5 (4%) be so so important??
@Patrice Ahern: was just about to say the same, this is just the restaurant association lobbying the government before the budget. The problem is more than likely down to high rents rather than a couple of percentage points on VAT.
@Patrice Ahern: It’s all they have to cover up their mismanagement, vat isn’t a cost to the restaurant, as it goes to the Exchequer, the 4.5% increase might deter some eating out, but as you say it’s not a lot of money.
Business isn’t easy and business owners face a lot of obstacles, but this industry seems entitled to a special tax regime, makes no sense.
@Patrice Ahern: I think you’re right, a change in the vat rate won’t work. I think it’s that people got used to drinking and eating at home during Covid and liked the amount of money it saved them. Now they’re gone all American style drinking wine at home and cooking the steaks on their new barbecues. Pubs are now open fewer hours and less days of the week and restaurants are closing; they’ll need more than a 4% vat reduction to change that.
@Patrice Ahern: hear something €98 euros for a meal and drinks same meal and drinks in Spain
@Patrice Ahern: I agree. Rent is usually 25% of total costs. Most restaurants pay €2,000+ per week for high street rent. I seek out unfashionable located restaurants and pay for food, not rent. “Liath” got a Michelin star from a corner spot in Blackrock Market.
@Paul O’Mahoney: Totally agree a drop in VAT may increase footfall but at the end of the day the any VAT collected goes straight to the Exchequer. The RAI would be better comparing Suppliers Prices to the Hospitality Sector which have increased by as much as 100% over the last couple of years. As well as that they need to lobby the Government to lower State imposed Costs like Rates, Water Charges etc.
@The next small thing: rent and insurance costs. Nothing being done about it.
@Mick Hyland: And charging €3.30 for a 250ml coke is just a rip off…I’ve no sympathy for them whatsoever
@Jessie Pinkman: that happened to me
@Patrice Ahern: It doesn’t. It’s just more lobbying for a return to something that was only ever temporary to try to help business through the largest economic crash in living memory which was a long time ago now. They got a taste of it and didn’t want to give it up and never stop moshing about it. The fact is that restaurants always come and go. They are trendy for a while and then people move on somewhere else much like bars and nightclubs which then get reinvented and open as something else. Hotels also did their part to send rates back to normal by gouging like there is no tomorrow. If restaurants can’t stay open at the prices they are charging then it just isn’t a viable business.
@the next small thing. Hi! If you sell €500k worth of food in a year, 4% amounts to €20kp.a. which is the difference between success & failure (profit or a loss). While margins are high on food, they have to be, because of the many costs involved in producing good food. Lots of chefs , cooking and prepping (the hours are frightful), kitchen porters, waiters etc. Then you have council rates, water charges, myriad regulatory service contracts for eg:grease traps, extraction system cleaning, emergency lighting and fire suppression, pest control to name a few; then there’s multiple breakages & upkeep/renewal of ovens, dishwashers, fridges, coffee machines, mixers, stoves, fryers, chargrills, salamanders, hot passes….Im exhausted even writing about it.
@Patrice Ahern: Accounting lesson incoming.. Let’s say your sales are €100000 for the two month VAT period. 9% VAT you pay €9000, 13.5% you pay €13500. Thats an extra €4500 or 50% differential. So in an environment where all costs have increased drastically this 50% jump in tax on your sales revenue is a killer, hence all the closures.
“Three of your neighbours closed”.. be honest , you were given a load of cash for the building which will be joined with your neighbours and redeveloped ..
@Ciaran: No neighbours closed,,,stop spouting cr@@@p
@Ciaran: All these restaurants are mere tenants that lease from a landlord.
I’m going to open a bacon, cabbage & spuds only dining experience …..that serves tea and bottles of porter …..along with Swiss roll for desert…I think it has great potential as an ethnic restaurant….
Pity about Ukiyo, always a nice place to go to inexpensive too. Still wonder how 4.5% difference in the rate of VAT on the bill, can cause so many closures.
I think it is less customers and maybe the effect of the likes of Deliveroo
@Peter Byrne: Or overpriced food?
@Peter Byrne: Maths time.. Lets just say you have €100000 sales for a given VAT period. 9% VAT you pay €9000, 13.5% you pay €13500. That €4500 or essentially a 50% jump.
The RA blaming VAT is disingenuous. If you can’t make a margin at 13% vat you won’t make a margin on 9%. The only way margin can be made is if the restaurant doesn’t drop its prices commensurately if the vat rate drops (and let’s be real here, none of those establishments did when the VAT rate was dropped last time.) The real culprit is rent/rates/utilities/insurance etc. A restaurant in West Cork wanted to charge me €40 for a sirloin steak…..turned and walked, absolutely no way that price is justifiable in any circumstance.
@Niall Whyte: Do we really need to bring the Ra into this?
@Mark Anthony Savage: money laundering
Never heard of it
@qffaffaf affrafrfraf: Your loss. Always a great spot to finish a great night off.
Restaurants open and close all the time. There are also restaurants in Dublin that are raking in big money and quite successful. Loads of these restaurants closing is due to real estate deals where the property changes hands or is re-developed for profit.
Never heard of it never been one 4 restaurants anyway like Dublin publicans they have themselves to blame with outa this world prices that the working man can’t afford restaurants and pubs are no place 4 children when they can’t learn to cook 4 themselves only the home can do it 4 children
@liam ward: yes I do wish people would stop dragging their children along to karaoke bars at night
@liam ward: I’m not sure it was the spot for kids.. It was essentially a nightclub after 10pm
@eoin fitzpatrick: yeah, I’m sick of listening to kids singing “let it go” at karaoke.
While I’ve empathy for the staff, I’ve little sympathy for the owners blaming VAT.
It’s not that I like VAT, it came in as Luxury Tax at 3% and has ever-increasingly expanded to include almost everything I pay for, after paying income taxes,
Paying 9% VAT on my electricity charges?
It’s not the 4.5 % vat is the cause of the hospitality industries closing their doors, it’s the total rip-off prices that’s been charged, not many can afford them. € 4.50 on a bill don’t make that decision.
It’s becoming too expenses to do business in Ireland being a sole trader micro business and small business. SME you Make more money sitting on the social welfare fact Then actually making an effort The system is broken!
Every evening Deliveroo and other cycle food deliveries would nearly run over you there are so many. For better or worse things are changing.
@JP: and the only one making money is deliveroo as they take 30% of the sales…
A mix Publican greed and government hatred of the irish pub has come together to kill the irish pub trade. Opening the door for the youth to turn to Coke and Ket…if we thought the effects of alcohol were bad we have seen nothing yet!!!!
@G: Actually the effects of alcohol world wide trumps the effect of any other drug, and is widely reported and researched.
VAT is paid by the customer, not the business. They all seem to be forgetting that. The main issue is far more likely high rents.
Id eat out 15-20% more often if I wasnt expected to tip.
Brendan O’Brien’s favourite spot.
Living in dublin all my life, alway round town doing deliveries and I can honestly iv never even heard of it
@kevin rock: It’s on the south side Kevin thats probably why. !!!
It’s a really well known Karaoke and Japanese restaurant. You don’t get the good stuff on da North Side.
@kevin rock: BREAKING NEWS: DUBLIN MAN IS UNOBSERVANT
@kevin rock: Genuine question, what is the point of a comment like this? I’d say I know town fairly well but I couldn’t name every single restaurant or bar I pass on every street and just because I haven’t personally heard of one doesn’t mean it isn’t popular with others.
Tourism is finished in Ireland – half the rooms unavailable and the available rooms are all 300 plus per night. Irish travelling abroad and spending their hard earned there.
Ah fek sake
Karaoke bar in this day and age. Not everyone’s cup of tea. The VAT issue is a smokescreen.
They had karaoke booths downstairs. Good craic. You could hire a booth with your mates and get copious amounts of sake and Japanese beer. Sing away to your hearts content. My song of choice was Teenage dirtbag by Weatus. Ah the memories
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