Mr. Jerry Gleeson:

The fact of the matter is that bylaw No. 25, which Mr. Harkin referred to, says that no person should moor a boat at the same place on the canals or within 500 m of the same place on the canals for more than five days without the appropriate permit from the commissioners. There are two permits in our present 1988 bylaws that we use currently: a yearly permit for €126 and a monthly permit for €12.60. A boat on the canals and Barrow is required to display either one of those permits to bring it into compliance with the five-day rule. To be allowed to moor in one spot for more than five days, a person needs a yearly permit or a monthly permit. Mr. Harkin's approach to this is they are doing us a favour by not asking us to move. We do not have to move. We are in compliance with the bylaws.

Twelve years ago Waterways Ireland stopped selling the monthly mooring permit. The next thing is we started to get letters from Waterways Ireland telling us there is a new permit called an extended mooring permit, which is not written into the schedule of tolls and charges. Boat owners are now obliged to purchase a yearly mooring permit and an extended mooring permit. Thereby, without any change to the tolls and charges and without any change to the bylaws, the price of mooring a boat on the canals went from €126 to €254. There was no ministerial sign-off and there was no the debate in committees. They just did this. Mr. Harkin has brought this up now. There is also a €300 service charge in Grand Canal Dock that is not in the schedule of tolls and charges. Bylaw No. 40 says boat owners are obliged to pay tolls and charges as laid out in the schedule. These charges are not in the schedule and for years they have been charging people this. Only about one fifth of the boats on the canals and Barrow have bought this extended mooring permit. Those who have not, like ourselves and most of the informed people here who have not bought it, never got any reaction and we were never told to move. We are not receiving a favour from Waterways Ireland.

We are perfectly in compliance with the by-laws. The inspector of navigation does not seem to understand the by-laws. There is another huge issue with regard to this. Waterways Ireland, in its report on the consultation, made a statement. Waterways Ireland does not believe that the proposed charges will lead to homelessness. A houseboat berth at the current location will be offered to those boaters who are currently regulated by means of an extended mooring permit. This is the one that is not in the schedule of tolls and charges. Waterways Ireland has accepted that we are in dwellings. It is now talking about issuing permits to boats that are regulated by this dodgy permit, which is only held by one fifth of the boats on the canals and less than one third of liveaboards. It is going to start issuing permits to boats that hold this. It is going to issue houseboat permits to liveaboards that currently hold this, and leave two thirds of the dwellings without a permit. That is instantly making people officially homeless by not giving them a permit. This is something that I wish could be investigated. I do not know how the process goes. I have written to Ministers and to Waterways Ireland, only to get the same nonsense answer, which is no answer at all. I do not know whether this is the place but really this has to stop.