Street furniture licence fees update

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD announced that he was seeking the approval of the Oireachtas to amend Planning and Development Regulations to continue the waiving of licence fees for outdoor dining meaning restau- rants, cafés, hotels and pubs across Ireland will save hundreds of euro this year, in 2023.

The waiving of the street furniture licence fee for tables and chairs outside a hotel, restaurant, public house or other establishment where food is sold for consumption on the premises, was first introduced in 2021 with the fee of €125 per table reduced to €0 per table.

This extension into 2023 will assist the hospitality sector this year by reducing the cost for maintaining outdoor dining in public spaces. Similar to previous years there will also be no fee for awnings, canopies and heaters used in conjunction with the tables and chairs.

Sherpa climbs Everest for 27th time

A Sherpa reached the top of Mount Everest for a record 27th time on Wednesday morning.

Kami Rita Sherpa, 53, scaled the 8,849 metre mountain – the world’s highestalong the southeast ridge route, guiding a Viet Nam climber.

“Kami Rita climbed Sagarmatha [the mountain’s Nepali name] for the 27th time," said a Nepal Department of Tourism official.

Rita scaled Everest for the first time in 1994 and has climbed it almost every year since then, except in 2014, 2015 and 2020, when climbing was halted for various reasons.

Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks, including Everest, and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring, when temperatures are warm and winds are typically calm.

On the same day British mountain guide Kenton Cool reached the world’s highest peak for the 17th time, extending his own record for the most climbs by a non-Nepalese.

May is said to be the best time to climb Everest due to favourable weather conditions.

Minister O’Brien said:

“This year Government are further supporting businesses across the country with another waiver of the street furniture licence fee. The outdoor dining experience has been incredibly popular with the public. For a small café or restaurant this fee can represent another financial burden and hospitality businesses still need our help, so I am delighted to extend the provisions of these regulations for another year.”