Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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375. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will consider amending the legislation to extend the definition of ‘casual trading’ to include the provision of services, alongside the sale of goods, as the current legislation restricts regulation under casual trading bye-laws to goods only, noting the increasing prevalence of services such as pop-up saunas and other temporary service providers operating on public lands, including beaches, and the need for local authorities to have a regulatory framework to address these activities effectively. [2589/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The Casual Trading Act 1995 (CTA) provides for a control and regulatory system for trading in public, the implementation of which lies with Local Authorities. The Act empowers Local Authorities to grant casual trading licences and make bye-laws as they see fit, on the control, regulation and administration of casual trading in its own functional area. Neither I as Minister nor my Department have a role in the day-to-day administration of casual trading licences.

My Department carried out a review of the Casual Trading Act 1995 (CTA) and Occasional Trading Act 1979 (OTA) in 2018. Part of this review included a Public Consultation. An earlier Review was also carried out by the then Competition Authority in 2002. Both reports made recommendations concerning the implementation of the CTA and how it was working. However, this work was completed before COVID. In the meantime, trading and markets in general may have moved on or changed.

Over the intervening years, my Department has delivered on a comprehensive legislative agenda, including a large swathe of consumer law, including the Consumer Rights Act, Representative Actions Act, General Product Safety Regulations and the Price Indications Directive. Individually, they represent major pieces of legislation aimed at improving consumer protection. Taken as a suite of measures, the increase and improvement they bring about in safeguarding consumers is considerable.

Given this legislative agenda, the possible changes in trading and markets post COVID, and the time that has elapsed since the initial review of the CTA and OTA, my Department will need to consider the position in relation to the Act to determine what amendments, if any, are necessary.