City manager says traders can stay after markets upgrade

Traditional traders will be allowed to stay within Dublin's Victorian fruit and vegetable market after Dublin City Council's multi-million euro regeneration of the area.

City manager John Fitzgerald was responding to concerns raised by the Fruit Traders Tenants Association last week that they would pushed out of the area to make way for an up-scale food market and restaurant.

A retail food market, restaurant and general "leisure" market is to be created within the Victorian market along with 600 homes and 60,000sq m of office/ retail space in the surrounding area under a major redevelopment of the markets southeast of the Four Courts.

The plan, involving more than €400 million of private investment and €20-€25 million in public infrastructure, is one of several framework plans for urban regeneration, launched by the city manager last Tuesday.

Mr Fitzgerald said the three or four large wholesale businesses are set to move out of the area, but that the smaller traders were a "key part of a top quality retail market" and they would be encouraged to stay.

However, the traders say they were not told about the new plans and believe the council is trying to force them out by making it impossible to trade.

Tenants association board member John Cunningham said: "The fish market is being demolished in a couple of weeks' time and the council is closing one of the streets adjacent to the fruit market. They've also told us they're taking away our loading bays but that from September 1st vans can't drive into the market.".

Mr Cunningham, who owns a fruit wholesale business within the market, said the tenants believed the council was trying to make their businesses inaccessible to get them to leave the area without paying compensation.

"The council said recently that this was always meant to be a retail market, but there have been wholesale businesses here for more than 100 years and 'wholesale' is printed on our rent receipts issued by the council," Mr Cunningham said.

"Basically they just want us out and they're trying to find any way they can to do it."