Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact that the provisions of this Act are going be put on a permanent footing and that this will hopefully be done before the sunset clause lapses. There are still many issues that will have to be thrashed out in the practical application of the forthcoming legislation. It is much broader than the issue we are dealing with today, namely, the sunset clause today.

The Department needs to engage with local authorities on outdoor seating areas and provide advice to them on standards. There is a lot of stuff out there that is quite ugly. We have done a great deal of work at local authority level to try to make sure you can get good shop fronts and facades on buildings in order that they are not festooned with advertising and all the rest of it. However, some of what has been constructed would be full of advertising and it is the only thing people see. It is important that there is set standard and that there is good co-ordination between the local authorities on that. Some logic needs to be applied in the context of seating areas on the street. These spaces often have nearly replaced some of the seating on the street that would be free. It is not right that people can only occupy a place if they pay for it. That was important from the point of view of people socialising and of keeping businesses viable at a difficult time.

We have to learn lessons from that. Covid-19 will not be the only virus that will circulate. Hopefully, there will not be another pandemic but there is a value in this, including for some people who like the idea of sitting in an area where there would be much more ventilation. Temple Bar Square, for example, used to have a lovely second-hand bookshop and a book market. That whole area has essentially been taken over by box seating for nearby restaurants. I completely understand that these restaurants have come out of a hard time and that this is temporary, but we have to think about what these places will look like if we are to continue some element of this into the future. These public spaces are not just commercial spaces; they are spaces for people to enjoy. The architecture in these spaces is quite important in the context of how people engage with each other. Outdoor bar and restaurant seating is no substitute for permanent seating in places where people gather, which is an important point. In cities, it will often be in these spaces that people socialise and get to know their neighbours. It is important that there is some retention of this and that we do not destroy the character of areas.

There have been other problems, such as those relating to mobility for people with disabilities and those with buggies. It has become less easy to navigate some areas because of what is an impediment for some people, while it is equally a place that people enjoy. It is important that we take all of that on board in order to ensure that there is good guidance to local authorities to the effect that this is something that will go on into the future.

There is a licensing aspect to what we are dealing with and there is also a by-law aspect. The licensing aspect was the one in respect of which there was the real difficulty if I remember rightly. As I said, people with difficulties have to be accommodated and local authorities must ensure that there is a clear right of way for pedestrians that is free from clutter. I remember walking around an area with some friends of mine, one of whom has a significant visual impairment. That person talks about the damage done to their legs as a result of their constantly crashing into things. The latter are things you would not even notice except when somebody draws your attention to them because of the difficulties they face. I refer to things like sandwich boards in this regard. There is also the necessity for people to get up and down off footpaths, which can be problematic for some.

Streets becoming pedestrianised can be good because sometimes having a lot of people on a street makes it safer and a place into which other people will go into. Empty streets are often the ones on which people do not feel safe. I am in favour of all of that, but we need to see good design.

We need to see the architectural character of streets being retained. I hope we will deal with that when the sale of alcohol Bill comes in front of us.

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