Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

We indicated on Second Stage and in public commentary that we would consider the issue being addressed in this amendment and introduce an amendment on Committee Stage. The Casual Trading Act 1995 requires those engaging in casual trading to hold a licence granted for that purpose by the local authority in the area where the trader operates. When the Competition Authority and the Consumer Strategy Group studied how the 1995 Act was being implemented by local authorities, they found there was a lack of consistency in the implementation of the legislation. They pointed out considerable variations in the fees being charged for licences by local authorities, for example, as well as differences in the facilities being provided.

The Consumer Strategy Group was strongly of the view that the lack of consistency was significantly inhibiting the growth of casual trading, thereby restricting consumer choice, in effect. The group recommended in its report that the Minister should be empowered to issue statutory guidelines obliging local authorities to apply a consistent approach when granting casual trading licences. This amendment, which proposes to include a new section 6A in the Casual Trading Act 1995, will allow the Minister to issue statutory guidelines, as recommended by the Consumer Strategy Group. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment issued non-statutory guidelines in this regard to local authorities in July 2005 and again in July 2006, with a view to their being implemented on a voluntary basis. If the voluntary guidelines do not result in a more consistent approach on the part of local authorities I will use the powers provided for in this amendment to make the necessary regulations to introduce statutory guidelines in this area.