Tipperary County Council are encouraging more hospitality businesses to take advantage of outdoor dining grants.
The most recent meeting of Nenagh Municipal District heard that there were only six applications in the area so far, with none in Ballina or Borrisokane.
The grants can cover 75% of expenditure on outdoor items such as tables, chairs and heaters, up to a maximum contribution of €4,000.
Director of Nenagh Municipal District, Marcus O’Connor says grants can be secured for any vouched expenditure between April last year and this September:
“It’s available to hotels, public houses, cafes, restaurants, all of these businesses in the county. I was just making the comment at the meeting (Nenagh Municipal District) the other day that the level of uptake seems quite so slow so far.
“We’ve had just six applications in the Nenagh Municipal District. I would have thought that with the town of Nenagh, but also Ballina, Borrisokane, Newport, Terryglass and places like these, that we would have more applications.”
The application form can be found here on the Tipperary County Council website.
The Council has clarified that the scheme is “open to attractions, hotels, restaurants, cafes, public houses or other tourism and hospitality business establishments where food is sold for consumption on the premises.”
Regarding pre-approval for funding, the Council says, “if you are considering purchasing seating and accessories that will be eligible under this scheme you may apply for approval in principle, in this case, if you are successful we will contact you with further instructions following purchase.
“You have to have no commercial rates outstanding to Tipperary County Council or have a payment plan in place up to 2019. It should be noted that almost all of the eligible premises got a full waiver of rates for 9 months in 2020 and 6 months so far in 2021.
“You do have to apply for a (outdoor) licence if you are putting the equipment on public property i.e. footpaths etc . This is to ensure that footpaths are not completely obstructed by tables and chairs. The process is simple and the fee involved has been completely waived for the whole of the current year.”
