Outdoor dining table fee of €125 needs to be scrapped, says RAI

Local government minister James Browne said he planned to seek to waive the €125 fee per table and four chairs associated with outdoor dining for the remainder of the year. File picture: Damian Coleman

The government is facing calls to abolish the €125 licence fee for outdoor dining tables after confirmation that the fee will be waived again this year, for the fifth year in a row.

Adrian Cummins, chief executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI), said the sector appreciates the latest waiver but the time has come to go a step further.