Gardaí entered the boat on March 25 to carry out an inspection on foot of a request from State agency Waterways Ireland – which is claiming La Peniche is carrying out unlicensed trading, because it does not have planning permission. Legislative changes were introduced by the Government to allow restaurants to operate as takeaways without planning permission during the pandemic. Dublin City Council confirmed restaurants were still exempt. However, in a statement to the Irish Independent, Waterways Ireland said it “believes stationary restaurant or take-away business trading from a boat at a fixed location would require planning permission from Dublin City Council”.