#irishmarinefederation – Today's Irish Marine Federation (IMF) agm at the Maldron Hotel, Portlaoise will hear that bank lending or the lack of it, continues to be a problem for boat sales.
It's just one of a number of key issues to be addressed by members at the annual gathering of chandlers, brokers, marina operators and boat hire companies.
'A continuing squeeze on credit to even AAA customers is having a detrimental effect on the boating industry' according to industry spokesperson Steve Conlon.
It's the biggest problem facing an industry that has contracted sharply in recession. Neverthetheless a core group of long established companies are riding out the economic storms and flying the flag for marine leisure business interests.
Also up for discussion at 2pm today are plans by the Department of Transport Tourism and Sport to address the issue of boat registration this year.
Currently recreational boats in Ireland are regulated in different ways depending on their size and what they are used for.
The IMF first raised the issue of registration with the then Minister, Dermot Ahern in 2002 and has made regular submissions to the Department since.
The IMF has also met with the Department's IT consultants who worked on an online registration system.
