A new scheme delivered in partnership between Fáilte Ireland and Waterford City and County Council will help tourism and hospitality businesses in Waterford to develop and increase their outdoor seating capacity, a Fine Gael Senator said.
Funding allocated under the scheme will also enable Local Authorities to develop permanent outdoor public dining spaces in towns and urban centres across the country, similar to those that exist in various European cities.
Senator Cummins said: “Earlier this week, government launched a new policy entitled Our Rural Future, the most ambitious and transformational policy for rural development in decades. Developing outdoor dining and socialising spaces will help to improve the vibrancy of our towns across Waterford and bring them more in line with the European model. This is a key commitment in our new policy.
Under Part one of the scheme is open to individual tourism and hospitality businesses including hotels, cafes, restaurants and attractions where food is sold for consumption on the premises. They can apply for a grant of up to €4,000 (up to 75% 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. Expenditure must be incurred between 1st April 2020 and 30th September 2021 and the scheme will open for applications on April 12th 2021 through Local Authority websites.
“Today’s announcement regarding the new Outdoor Dining Scheme has two aims. It will enable individual tourism and hospitality businesses to increase their dining and seating capacity in the short-term and will also create a long-term strategy for our local authority to develop appropriate, permanent, weatherproofed outdoor dining infrastructure in Waterford.
“This will support jobs and businesses and transform appropriate outdoor spaces across our county as welcoming, vibrant places that will help support economic recovery.”