1 July 2016

Fleadh Casual Trading

In organising an event which is expected to attract 400,000 over nine days, the Fleadh Executive Committee recognises that in a modern festival environment, people expect to be able to buy food and refreshments on the street or in other outdoor spaces. Not only does casual trading provide a necessary service but the concept of outdoor eating and playing a few tunes adds to the atmosphere and fun of the Fleadh. It is particularly attractive to young people who are often happier to eat “on the hoof” rather than sit down in a formal restaurant setting which some of their parents or grandparents might prefer. The Fleadh is so big that there will be good business for everyone who provides food and drinks and casual trading under ALA remit will operate for four days in Ennis from 18^th – 21^st August 2016.

 

Casual Trading Licence

So, can anybody come in and set up a food stall and trade? Emphatically not, a casual trading licence is a requirement under the Casual Trading Act to sell goods on the public road. It is an offence under this Act to trade without a valid casual trading licence.  The Casual Trading Act, 1995, transferred the responsibility for casual trading from the Department of the Environment to the various local authorities. Clare County Council first introduced bye-laws for casual trading in May 1998. These bye-laws set out the criteria under which trading is allowed within the county administrative area. The area of casual trading falls under the auspices of the Ennis Municipal District within Clare County Council.

 

Fleadh trading sites

The Fleadh submitted a detailed and comprehensive application for an Event Management Licence and this licence has been granted by Clare County Council subject to strict conditions. In order to manage casual trading better and comply in full with the licence, the Fleadh has decided to use the services of a specialist management company to manage Casual Trading. ALA Markets and Events were appointed to manage the casual trading sites which are located in the following areas.

• Site 1 – Abbey Street Carpark, Stage Area
• Site 2 – Abbey Street & Harmony Row
• Site 3 – Harvey’s Quay
• Site 4 – New Road, The Dome

Strict controls will apply to casual trading in accordance with legislation and best practice. The Fleadh Committee is totally committed to providing safe food in a hygienic and properly controlled environment. Food traders must have Environmental Health Officer (EHO) certificates and they must be appropriately insured.

 

Responsibilities of ALA Markets and Events

ALA Markets & Events acting on behalf of the Fleadh Committee will address a number of important issues in order to ensure that the casual trading sites are managed to the highest standards. These include:

• Adherence to local fire regulations concerning separation distances between trading units where relevant
• Ensuring that where trading infrastructure is set up that there is a minimum of 4 metres clearance for access and egress of emergency vehicles at all times
• ALA Markets & Events will deal directly with the Environmental Health Officer to ensure compliance with all regulations. For example, there must be separated trader toilets, hot and cold wash basins, separation and collection of waste and they must deal with any other requirements that may be stipulated.
• The management company will be available to meet with all relevant authorities, e.g. a walk through with the Fire Officer and implementing any measures deemed necessary prior to trading commencing.
• They will provide a team that will supervise the situating and setting up of all traders and will supervise the end of trading and removal of all facilities and equipment.

 

Traders & the Green Fleadh

Street traders who are both packaging and selling food or drinks must package and supply all food in certified compostable food service packaging and pour and supply all drinks in certified compostable beverage containers. They must supply the organisers/Green Fleadh Office with advance documentary evidence that all the packaging intended to be used by the trader to package the food and drinks complies with required certification. This documentary evidence must also be held at the individual stalls and be available for inspection during trading. Street traders shall segregate their waste into a) bio-waste/food waste, b) recyclable waste, c) residual waste.

 

Food Safety

Clare Local Enterprise Office Clare has organised food safety training workshops for Food Businesses in preparation for Fleadh 2016. These were for all businesses involved with food handling – cafes, restaurants, delis, garage forecourts, and hotels as well as temporary stalls. They have also organized a special HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) workshop for casual traders.

To ensure adherence to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Food Stalls Guidance Note 2016, the following must be complied with and checked. The storage and exposure of foodstuffs for sale must be off the ground. Food handlers must wear clean, protective clothing. Long hair should be tied back or covered by a hat, hairnet or similar head covering.

Smoking is not permitted at food stalls and managers will enforce this rule. Containers, work surfaces and packaging material likely to be used in contact with food must be in a good state of repair, clean, and must not pose a risk of additional contamination of the food. The vendor must demonstrate that there is adequate means of cleaning hands for the duration of trading.

 

Physical set up of stalls

All canopies / gazebos / trailers must be constructed of suitable materials and kept in a proper state of repair, in a clean and hygienic condition. Suitable weights are used on all legs of canopies / gazebos and all equipment must be kept within the boundary of the vendor’s pitch

Protective mats are used where vendors are trading on grass. All vendors trading on grass are at the edge of the footpaths / surfaced areas – preventing customers from walking on the edge of the grass. All electrical cables are suitable for outdoor use and no cables are running across flower beds or in a manner to create a trip hazard.

Suitable and adequate refuse storage facilities must be provided at the stall and all waste generated by a vendor must be removed from the site at the end of trade.

 

Signage:

All product prices are clearly visible to customers and all allergy information is clearly visible to customers. Where relevant, organic certification must be visible to customers.