PLANS TO UTILISE Ireland’s canals for residential use by increasing houseboat capacity along waterways could take between five to seven years due to planning issues, an Oireachtas committee has heard.

Green Party TD Marc Ó Cathasaigh said barge living could form one part of the solution, stating that houseboat living is popular in Manchester, London and Birmingham.

During an Oireachtas committee hearing yesterday, he questioned Waterways Ireland, asking if it has investigated whether it there is capacity to provide more housing on our canals.

“We’re in the middle of a housing crisis… I don’t think this is craziness,” he said, stating that barge and houseboat living can be quite suitable for small families, older couples, or single people.

“There is more capacity – the issue for us is around planning, land, ownership,” said John McDonagh, CEO of Waterways Ireland.  

The committee was told that an investment programme for more houseboats on Irish canals is in draft form with a goal to increase the provision of serviced moorings to cater for an additional 170 houseboats.

“It’ll take us between five and seven years to develop that because houseboat moorings are subject to planning permission,” Éana Rowe, Operations Controller for Waterways Ireland told the committee.

Lands also need to be identified that might be made available to develop marinas that could cater for a sizable number of house boats.  

Currently, the only serviced moorings for houseboat living is in Sallins in Kildare, at Shannon Harbour, and also Grand Canal Dock in Dublin.

A serviced mooring site gives access to a water tap and electricity point for each houseboat. Electricity is not included in the permit fee. Residents use a top up card to pay for their electricity usage. 

Refuse is collected at the Grand Canal and a pump out station for waste is located on the opposite side of the marina. However the services provided vary in different locations.

Ó Cathasaigh said he knew of one couple who lived happily on a houseboat for many years before starting their family.

“There’s a lot of people who live very comfortably [on houseboats],” he said, stating that the expansion of housing on our canals should be investigated.