Tullamore man's dream afloat as houseboat rates surge

Tullamore man Barry Madden (44) and his wife Emma O'Sullivan (35) live on a barge on the Grand Canal in Sallins, Kildare with their two dogs Sasha and Ru.

The couple love the lifestyle but with Waterways Ireland seeking to introduce new bye-laws including massive increases in rates, their way of life is under threat.

''We moved here two years ago because we wanted to get our own place and it was a way to get on the property ladder... a form of housing. It also meant we weren't tied to a long term mortgage,'' said Barry.

The couple who both work in the theatre had stayed on a barge for two weeks the previous summer. They ''really liked it'' and decided to make it permanent.

''We knew everybody in the first three weeks of moving here. It's a fantastic community. It's not like living in a housing estate. We lived in Drumcondra for six years and we only got to know people through Covid. On the canal everybody has something in common, we always look after the boats of people who are not living on them. We keep an eye on those using the towpath, we make sure there is no fly-tipping or anti-social behaviour, if the water level is dropping we report it,'' said Barry.

Now Waterways Ireland want to impose steep rate increases on those living in houseboats of between 400% and 2000% depending on where you live. In the case of Barry and Emma their rates will rise from €126 per year to €1,500.

Barry, who is the son of Dominic and Marguerite Madden from the New Road, says, ''Waterways Ireland are saying they just want to bring the charges in line with best practise in other countries. They employed KPMG to do a report. KPMG looked at different canals in Europe, mainly the Clyde Canal in Scotland which is a couple of kilometres shorter than the Grand Canal, but they have 26 facilities for pumping out waste water and getting water, while the Grand Canal has only 3, one in Shannon Harbour, one in Sallins, one in Lowtown. There is one in Grand Canal Dock, but that's closed off unless you get prior written permission. The pump in Tullamore has been out of service for years,'' Barry added.

Barry and Emma's barge has a toilet with a holding tank, water tank, kitchen, bedroom, living area and bathroom. ''If we want to get water for washing or showering we travel to the tap and fill up the water in the tank, this takes 20 minutes and an hour to fill up the water. We do that once every 10 days. We have to conserve the water, it's a finite resource. It's the same with electricity, there is no plugging into any sort of mains. We are living off grid, we have solar panels. We don't get a grant for those. The solar panels charge up battery banks to use over the night. During the winter months there is less solar and we run a generator to charge up batteries. For cooking we have gas bottles, we get 2 or 3 months out of them,'' said Barry.

In its opening statement to the Dail Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage which took place on September 21 last, Jer Gleeson and Liam Finnegan on behalf of IRBOA [Irish Residential Boat Owners Association] said its aim is that, ''houseboat dwellings be considered part of the housing mix in Ireland. Not only at a time of housing and cost of living crises but beyond those to a vision of a vibrant canal system where tourist boats,weekend boats, and boat dwellers bring life and colour through Dublin on the Grand and Royal Canals and out through Kildare, Offaly, Laois, Meath and Westmeath.''

Mr Gleeson said the Waterways Ireland's proposed Canal Bye-Law Amendments would create ''Dead Zones with new mooring and passage restrictions.''

He said, ''these are communities of resilient, self-sufficient people that generate a significantly smaller carbon footprint than would a similarly sized community of traditional bricks and mortar dwellings. Waterways Ireland are proposing to introduce increases in permit fees from between 400% and 2,000% depending on the area, aside from the very real threat of driving members of our community into homelessness, this will have the effect of pushing boat dwellers out of areas serviced by public transport into more rural areas where cars are the only option. This we believe runs counter to the stated objective of the Climate Action Plan to reduce car journeys by 20% by 2030. ''

Barry Madden fears that the next time he applies for a permit he may not get it. ''We are not sure how they are given out. If we had to move to Naas, there are no services, we would have to travel through 5 locks, to get them. Waterways Ireland have a mammoth task looking after the waterways, but we would like to see a guarantee that there will be an increase in services at the hubs and work with them on that. They have the right to refuse permits and if you disagree there is no internal review only the district court,'' stressed Barry.

''They are also bringing in inspectors that can fine people on the towpath, and they will have no right to appeal. If you live in an area with a canal you should make yourself aware of the bye laws,'' advised Barry.

The IRBOA says '' the new proposed Draft Revisions to the Shannon Navigation Bye-laws and Grand & Royal Canal and Barrow Navigation Bye-laws will decimate the Houseboat communities on Ireland's Inland Waterways. In IRBOA's own words ''Don't Empty the Canals.''

They have set up an online petition to stop the bye-laws from coming into force in addition they are asking people to email their local TD's and Senators. The period of public consultation finishes on October 2, 2023.

At a recent sitting of Offaly County Council Chief Executive Officer Anna Marie Delaney suggested that the local authority make a submission on the bye-laws however, this was rejected by Councillor Sean O'Brien who felt it would be better to write to the Minister.