€17m outdoor dining scheme boost for hospitality businesses
By Maurice Garvey
BUSINESSES in the tourism and hospitality sector will be hoping the €17million outdoor dining scheme announced by government and Fáilte Ireland last week, will provide a sorely needed boost over the coming months.
The scheme is open to individual tourism and hospitality businesses where food is sold for consumption on the premises including hotels, attractions, cafes, restaurants and pubs.
Paul Kelly, CEO of Fáilte Ireland with Moira Murrell, Chair of the CCMA Rural Development, Community, Tourism, Culture and Heritage (RCTCH) Committee and Minister Catherine Martin
Applicants can apply for a grant of up to €4,000 (up to 75 per cent of the ex-VAT cost of equipment purchased/installed). Costs for outdoor tables, chairs, umbrellas, electric heaters, screens/windbreaks, plant stands and wooden platforms will be covered under the scheme.
Funding is to be delivered in two parts – the first part for individual businesses to develop and increase their own outdoor seating capacity, and the second part will enable local authorities to develop permanent outdoor public dining spaces in towns and urban centres.
Minister for Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport, Gaeltacht and Media, Catherine Martin said the initiative aims to provide a shot in the arm to the tourism and hospitality businesses, and to enable a long-term strategy for local authorities to develop “permanent weatherproofed outdoor dining infrastructure”.
“The aim is to support jobs and businesses and to transform appropriate outdoor spaces within our cities and towns as welcoming, vibrant places that will help support economic recovery,” Minister Martin said.
Local authorities will administer the scheme.
Expenditure must be incurred between April 1, 2020 and September 30, 2021.
It is open for applications from April 12 through local authority websites.
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