Houseboat living could be one way of tackling the housing crisis.
A Green party TD says expanding the number of moorings on our canals should be investigated.
An Oireachtas committee heard last week that though there are plans to increase the number of spaces for houseboats, it could take up to seven years for planning permission to come through.
Waterford Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh says there are currently just over 30 serviced moorings across the country.
"I think we can do better. I'm not saying that living on a house boat is the solution to the housing crisis.
"But I think surely to God if that can 15,000 people in the UK (to do it). I understand their canal network is much more expensive but surely we can aim a little bit higher than 32."
In the UK, long term moorings are often called home moorings. However, some people who live on boats do not have a permanent mooring.
Boaters without a home mooring are called 'continuous cruisers'.
This means that they:
- need a long term boat licence
- must be travelling on the canals or rivers
- must not usually moor in the same neighbourhood for more than 14 days
Some parts of canals and rivers only allow short stay moorings of between 2 and 7 days.
It's understood that if more were introduced in Ireland, an overhaul planning expansion would need to be created and implemented to increase the the number of houseboats permitted and increase the length of time they can stay in a location.
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