A new scheme delivered in partnership between Fáilte Ireland and Kildare County Council will help tourism and hospitality businesses in Kildare to develop and increase their outdoor seating capacity, Minister Martin Heydon 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.
Deputy Heydon 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 Kildare and bring them more in line with the European model. This is a key commitment in our new policy.
“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 Kildare.
“This will support jobs and businesses and transform appropriate outdoor spaces across Kildare as welcoming, vibrant places that will help support economic recovery.”