Tánaiste publishes Competition Authority Report on implementation of the Casual Trading Act, 1995

The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms. Mary Harney, T.D., today (Thursday 15^th May 2003) announced the publication of the Competition Authority's Report on the implementation of the Casual Trading Act, 1995.

The Tánaiste asked the Competition Authority to undertake a study under Section 11 of the Competition Act, 1991 (as amended), on the manner in which the provisions of the Casual Trading Act, 1995 were being implemented by local authorities. The Tánaiste had requested the study following complaints received by her regarding the operation of the Act by local authorities.

The principal recommendations of the report are as follows:

• The local authorities that have not yet introduced bye-laws under the Casual Trading Act, 1995 should do so without delay.

• Local authorities should consult casual traders and other interested parties when introducing or amending bye-laws and making decisions under the Casual Trading Act, 1995.

• Guidelines should be drawn up at national level for local authorities to follow on issues such as, types of licences, exemptions, objective criteria for setting fees, objective criteria for location of designated areas etc.

• The possibility of mutual recognition of licences among local authorities should be investigated.

• Fees set under the Casual Trading Act, 1995, should be based solely on the administrative cost of issuing licences and any costs associated with providing facilities.

• Local authorities should be required to make available to the public a list of its licence fees under the Casual Trading Act, 1995, together with a breakdown of the various costs leading to those calculations. This same information should be collated centrally.

• The Casual Trading Act, 1995, should be amended to enable fees, and amendments to fees, to be challenged in the District Court with a provision to appeal to the Circuit Court, as are other aspects of bye-laws.

The Tánaiste has asked for comments on the Report and the recommendations and having considered these comments and the Report will decide what further action is required.

The Report is available on the Department's website at http://www.djei.ie/publications/commerce/1995/casualtrading.pdf and is available for purchase in the Government Publication Sales Office, Sun Alliance House, Molesworth St, Dublin 2. The deadline for submitting comments is on or before 13^th June 2003. Comments can be made in writing to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Competition & Consumer Policy Section, Casual Trading Report, Earlsfort Centre, Lower Hatch St, Dublin 2 or by e-mail to casualtradingreport@entemp.ie.

Background Note for Editors

The terms of reference of the study were as follows:

To undertake a study of the manner in which the provisions of the Casual Trading Act, 1995 have been implemented by local authorities with a view to assessing the impact of that legislation on competition in local markets and, in particular, whether the measures employed by local authorities can reasonably be regarded as necessary for and proportionate to the achievement of public interest objectives relating, for example, to public order and safety.

The study was undertaken under Section 11 of the Competition Act, 1991 as amended [which is now Section 30 (2) of the Competition Act, 2002]. The Casual Trading Act, 1995 governs the operation of trading in a public place (i.e. street trading). The Act devolved the responsibility for casual trading from a dual system of central government and local authorities to local authorities alone. The regulation of casual trading is done by way of bye-laws issued by local authorities. The making of bye-laws is a reserved function of local authorities. The bye-laws cover such maters as designated casual trading areas, fees, pitches, etc.

The Tánaiste had been receiving complaints from casual traders regarding the way in which local authorities were operating the Act. The type of complaints were as follows:

• licence fees charged by local authorities varied very widely throughout the country, and could be very high;

• no account was taken by local authorities of the practical difficulties of traders, e.g. size of stalls, parking of vans, etc;

• local authority members could be faced with a conflict between their duties under the Acts and their private interests;
• local authorities saw casual traders as a nuisance rather than part of the commercial life of a town;

• casual traders who wished to move from area to area had to pay a fee in each local authority area where they wished to trade (there are 88 local authorities); and

• local authorities had been very reluctant to use their powers to exempt specified activities from the application of the Act within their own areas and this had impacted particularly severely on fruit and vegetable growers who had enjoyed a general exemption to engage in roadside sales under the 1980 Act.

The Report is available from the Government Publications Sales Office, Sun Alliance House, Molesworth St, Dublin 2 (Price €7.50). It is also available on the Department's website at www.djei.ie

ENDS