The Casual Trading Bill, 1994, which is currently before the Select Committee on Enterprise and Economic Strategy, provides for the devolution of the licensing function from the Minister for Enterprise and Employment to the local authorities and enhances their powers to administer and regulate casual trading in their functional areas.
Section 6 (2) of the Casual Trading Act, 1980, requires a casual trader to display his-her casual trading licence or a copy of it so as to be clearly visible and easily legible to members of the public when he-she trades at a place which is not a casual trading area. The selling of ice cream is currently exempted from the provisions of the 1980 Act and is not, therefore, currently regulated under the Act 4. However, under the Casual Trading Bill, 1994, I propose to limit the list of casual trading activities excluded from the scope of regulation, including the selling of ice cream, and to empower the local authorities to decide what should be exempted in their own areas.
In regard to classes of trading which are currently regulated under the 1980 Act, it is a matter for the local authorities to decide how to regulate, supervise and administer casual trading in their own functional areas. The classes of trading under reference do not fall within the scope of existing price display orders which are concerned with the sale of food and beverages at retail outlets or for consumption on the premises.
