Council defers decision on street trading licence costs

Dublin City Council has deferred the introduction of controversial increases in the cost of street trading licences.

The proposed changes, which would see a six-fold increase in the annual cost of some casual trading pitches, have been referred to the council's finance committee.

Councillors at last night's monthly meeting approved the proposal by Lord Mayor Michael Conaghan to refer the issue to the finance committee, but not before some councillors criticised the proposal to increase fees to a "more realistic basis".

Sinn Féin's Christy Burke accused the council of trying to "remove" street traders from the city and warned that there would be a "very severe legal battle" if this happened. He said there was a case for some increase in the fees but a 500 to 600 per cent rise was "totally unacceptable".

However, Fine Gael's Brian Gillen, chair of the arts and culture committee which proposed the increased fees, warned fellow councillors not to "shirk" their duty to raise money for the city.

The matter had already been "batted around" between the council and its committees on three occasions. The arts and culture committee had unanimously approved the increases, he pointed out.

Mr Burke protested that the Sinn Féin representative on the committee had not voted for the proposal because he was not at the meeting.

Last night's meeting also saw the council take the first steps towards securing the future of the two recently-closed Bewley's branches as cafes.

Councillors approved a motion to vary the Dublin City Development Plan by providing additional protection for the "existing or last use" of any building where this is an intrinsic aspect of the social, cultural or artistic interest of the premises.

The motion proposed by Mr Conaghan aims to find a way of protecting "not just the physical buildings and their features but also their use as cafes".

A period of public consultation on this variation will be advertised at the end of this month. City officials will then compile a report before city councillors vote on the change which is likely to be finalised in September.