The operator of a waterbus on the Shannon-Erne waterway in Co Leitrim claims he is being forced out of business because of time restrictions forced on him by Waterways Ireland.
The waterbus is the only one of its kind on the waterway and one of the main visitor attractions in the area, offering joint packages with a number of other tourism-related businesses.
Mr Brendan Brennan, who runs the Sliabh An Iarainn Sunset waterbus, has rejected arguments from Waterways Ireland that to keep locks open after 8 p.m. would be neither safe nor economically viable.
"Our point is we pay about £1,500 a year to get through the locks. A coach operator would pay about £250 a year on road tax and they can use the roads 24 hours a day," he says.
All locks on the Shannon-Erne waterway are open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. all year round. They are operated by swipe cards which the boat-owners buy. A call-out service is provided in the event of technical problems.
There are three locks in the vicinity of Ballinamore and Mr Brennan is arguing that to cater for evening dinner packages with a restaurant at Garadice Lake, and for early morning trips or conferences the next day, he needs to be able to go through the locks late at night and early in the morning.
The regional manger of Waterways Ireland, Mr Joe Gillespie, says a call-out service could not be provided after 8 p.m. "We do not believe we could justify extending the service for a single operator."
He also believes it would be hazardous to operate a waterbus through locks in the dark, particularly given that some of the passengers could be on wheelchairs.
Mr Gillespie says Mr Brennan knew the rules before he started the business in 1996. "Obviously it has been a bad year for tourism and I accept there may be difficulties."
Mr Brennan says that over the past five years, 30,000 people have used the waterbus. Business had nearly halved this year from a high of 8,000 passengers last year, mainly due to foot-and-mouth restrictions.
The £30 million investment on reopening the Shannon-Erne waterway was meant to benefit local tourism businesses, he says, but he believes there needs to be more flexibility from Waterways Ireland if this is to happen.