Dublin City Council has issued a tender for a market operator to bring additional traders and vibrancy to trading on Moore Street.
Moore Street, which is a designated casual trading area, has historically been one of the key market and trading areas in the city. The area has declined in recent years for a variety of reasons.
Earlier this year, the council’s Moore Street Expert Group issued a report, under the auspices of the Minister for State Malcolm Noonan’s Moore Street Advisory Group.
One of the key actions of the report was to bring additional traders, vibrancy and variety to the street trading offering to complement the existing street traders.
Key socio-economic area
This tender for an initial period of one year requires a commercial operator to operate and manage a market on Moore Street from Thursday through to Sunday between the hours of 9.30am and 10pm.
In a statement the council said: “This should complement the existing 17 traders on the street who operate Monday through Saturday from 9.30am to 6.30pm.
Dublin’s Lord Mayor Alison Gilliland added: “Moore Street is a key socio-economic area in Dublin City that has not performed well in recent times. I hope that the successful tenderer will bring a new energy to the street and make it a must-visit location in the north inner city for citizens and visitors alike.
“I look forward to this initiative being fully implemented and showcasing an important positive and historic aspect of the city.”
Chair of the Moore Street Expert Group, Cllr Donna Cooney said the tender shows the commitment of Dublin City Council to retain Moore St as a trading area into the future and a respect for the unique history of this area.
“It is hoped this operator will be in place in early 2022 and that this initiative will prove successful.”
Trading permits
A motion to shelve street traders’ permits for the next year was backed unanimously by Independent councillors at a Dublin City Council meeting last June.
The move, which saw hundreds of street traders not having to pay out hundreds of Euro in annual permit fees, was backed at a Local Area Committee (LAC) meeting by former Lord Mayor and north inner city councillor Christy Burke and colleague Niall Ring.
Permit renewals run from June annually and the proposal will involve the rest of this year and the first six months of 2022.
The council had committed to reduce the casual trading fees by 50 per cent for the coming trading year given the loss off income they have suffered due to Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions.
Street traders’ permits for the 2020/2021 year were cut by half and council has already committed to continuing the 50 per cent reduction until June next year.
Permit fees range from €350 to €3,000 dependent on location and goods being sold such as flowers, fruit, vegetables and confectionery.
Casual trading in Ireland is regulated by Casual Trading bye-laws made under the Casual Trading Act. Each city or county council in Ireland regulates their own geographic region.
Cllr Burke along with the late Mr Gregory, a TD for Dublin North Central, were both synonymous with fighting for the rights of the Moore Street traders in the 1980s. Both were arrested with councillor Burke being jailed over issues surrounding the right to trade.
The outspoken advocate said the traders are an integral part of “our history and culture for a very long time”.
