Niamh Smyth
Question:16. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he plans to update the Casual Trading Act 1995. [4178/21]
View answerWednesday, 27 January 2021
Questions (16)
Written answers
The Casual Trading Act 1995 provides for a control and regulatory system for people trading in public places and involves the issuing of licenses to traders by local authorities who administer the regime in their own respective areas.
In August 2018, my predecessor, Minister Humphreys, launched a public consultation process for the Casual Trading Act 1995 to determine its continued fitness for purpose. The legislation has been on the statute book for a number of years and given the changes in retail and trading environments, it was considered an opportune time to review the legislation. The consultation sought the views of interested parties, including local authorities, on matters relating to the Act.
My Department engaged a legal researcher to examine the submissions received to the public consultation exercise and to prepare an options paper which would provide the basis for a policy review of the legislation. While this was completed last year, unfortunately it has not been possible to progress the review of the Act any further due to the necessity of pursuing other priorities and responding to demands arising in the context of Brexit and COVID-19. The matter will be reviewed in the second half of this year with a view to resuming work in earnest.
In the meantime, local authorities are continuing to operate the provisions of the Casual Trading Act 1995 as before.