RESTAURANTS WILL NOT be required to pay fees for having tables on the streets after Covid-era regulations have been extended for another year.

Street dining fees, which charge restaurants €125 per table, were temporarily removed during the pandemic when indoor dining was banned in order to curb the spread of the virus.

Regulations waiving the fees have been extended for four years in a row, as more Irish dining businesses have opted into purchasing street furniture with the funding, which otherwise would have been collected by local councils.

A ‘zero fee’ street furniture licence was rolled out during the pandemic and continues to be in practice.

Businesses will still be required to seek permissions for using street furniture from local councils. 

Housing and local government minister James Browne said work in his department is underway to get the extension approved by this summer, as it first must pass through the Oireachtas.

He said today that the extension is a cost-saving measure for local businesses.