Ms Dawn Livingstone:

There is significant demand from people who want to live on boats, particularly in urban areas like Grand Canal Dock and villages like Sallins and Hazelhatch - anywhere close to the city with good connections. We have planning permission in Grand Canal Dock for 20 to be used as residential moorings and we have some approval in Shannon Harbour at the far end of the system. One of the things we would hope to do by bringing in the by-laws and creating a platform from charging is making investing in those type of facilities economically viable. They are definitely part of a vibrant canal network and we can have communities that flourish but it needs to be managed and controlled because if we do not manage and control, we will have all sorts of problems with pollution and people living in substandard conditions. It is something we are keen to manage and grow in a sustainable way that meets the requirements of planning authorities.