City council clears way for more street stalls

ALMOST 20 new stalls will appear around Dublin this year selling such things as snacks, jewellery, flowers and offering portrait painting, under a bylaw passed by the city council.

Almost all will be on the south-side of the city, and of those on the northside none will be outside the centre.

From this morning the council is inviting expressions of interest from groups and individuals for casual-trading licences, for specific purposes and at specific locations. The times at which the licensee may trade will be strictly delineated.

Among the pitches on offer are:

* a tea/coffee and light snacks licence, at Abbey Street Irish Life Centre, from Monday to Saturday 7am to 6pm, for €3,000 a year;

* a jewellery/craft/portrait artists/ books licence at Barnardo Square from Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm, for €5,000 a year;

* a tea/coffee/light snacks licence at Sandymount Promenade, Monday to Saturday, 7am to 6pm, for €4,000 per year.

Of the 17 pitches on offer, four are on the northside – at IFSC on Amiens Street, the Liffey Boardwalk, the Store Street Plaza and at Abbey Street.

One pitch lies between north and south, on Grattan Bridge, where a licence to sell flowers, arts and crafts from Monday to Saturday between 10am and 6pm is on offer for €1,000 a year.

Of the 12 on the southside, three are outside the centre – at Sandymount, Ranelagh and St Patrick’s Park. Asked why none would be in, for instance, Clontarf, Drumcondra, Glasnevin or Phibsboro, Cllr Gerry Breen, who has chaired the working group on the bylaw, said it was “about footfall and opportunity”.

“It is something that will be reviewed over the next six-month period”. Cllr Breen (Fine Gael) represents the Clontarf area.

Anyone seeking to buy a licence must have tax clearance, photographic identification and evidence that the provenance of their goods can be established.

“A six-month process is due to start now and will report back in October 2012 on additional opportunities, ideas and issues,” said Mr Breen. “This is about animating the city. There will absolutely be a lot of interest in these.”