A Cork restaurant owner has urged the Government to extend the waiver for outdoor dining after how successful it proved to be last year
Princes Street in the city, became one of the first city centre streets to embrace outdoor dining after the City Council pedestrianised a number of city streets to accommodate outdoor dining in the wake of restrictions on indoor dining in the wake of the Covid pandemic
Last year the Government removed the €125 fee per table businesses were charged to serve customers outside and there are calls for an extension of that waiver as businesses gradually get back on their feet
The Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien is said to be considering extending the measure, and the Restaurants Association of Ireland said it would be a very positive move heading into the summer.
Cork City Council says it's aware of the Government review on the 2022 charges and is awaiting the outcome of the process
Speaking to RedFM News, Claire Nash of Nash-19 says the Government needs to waive the outdoor-dining licence until businesses can better afford it, while continuing to support the city:
"What the Restaurants Association of Ireland have asked is that there will be a hold on the fee for Outdoor Dining Licences. It's a decision from Central Government, will they cut the revenue of local government, which is Cork City Council to run the city. Now, how much more of that can we stop? So what we are looking for is that the government will put a hold on the Outdoor Dining Licence fee but that it will compensate the local authority so that they can keep the investment in the outdoor dining, in the city".
