PROPOSED bye-laws for vendors and mobile sauna operators won’t ‘wash well’ according to one councillor who said the fees shouldn’t be prohibitive and that one size does not fit all when it comes to different areas in the county.

BY MARTIN STEINMETZ & KIERAN O'MAHONY

New bye-laws are being introduced in the Carrigaline Municipal District to regularise the operation of both kiosk vendors and saunas at beaches and piers where operators will be charged a fee of €1,400 per annum per location. 

The levies - the first of their kind in the county - are six times higher than the rate being charged by neighbouring local authorities in Kerry, Clare and Waterford.

Speaking at a meeting of the West Cork Municipal District last Friday Cllr Isobel Towse (SD) asked how on earth Carrigaline Municipal District came up with the fee.

‘I just don’t think it will wash well in West Cork. When it comes to our Municipal District it contravenes casual trading law which says that the fee can’t be prohibitive,’ said Cllr Towse.

While welcoming the introduction of regulation to what is a grey area, she pointed out that sauna businesses are casual in nature with many of them operating only at weekends or just once a week in a particular location.

‘They are weather dependent and it doesn’t make sense to pay €1,300 or €1,400 for a bay that you can only use once a week. These saunas are set up in beautiful places that don’t have a lot of footfall.’

Municipal District manager Nicola Radley said this matter is entirely with the Carrigaline Municipal District and that the fee was brought in with full consultation with elected members, adding: ‘The fee that was arrived at is not for profit.’

Donal McAuliffe, who runs West Cork Sauna, said he welcomed the permits but has an issue with the pricing.

‘Our neighbours in Kerry pay €240 per annum per location while in Waterford it’s €350 per annum per location. It’s really about the principle of the thing and why should people in Kerry be paying six times less than us?’ he asked, speaking on RTÉ radio.

A council spokesperson told The Southern Star said that the licence fees are based on recovering the reasonable costs involved in administering and managing the scheme which included maintenance of designated trading bays, staffing costs and additional cleaning and servicing cost.

‘The annual licence fee provides operators with a designated, authorised trading space, the benefit of operating with a regulated and recognised framework, increased security and certainty in their trading location, access to locations maintained and managed by the Council and a level playing field with fair and consistent oversight.’