Green Party councillor, Deirdre de Burca, has recently drawn public attention to the fact that all traditional Market Rights that have been unused around County Wicklow in the last ten years stand to be extinguished if they are not exercised by the end of April 2006.

The Green Party councillor joined forces last week with the Dominican nuns from the Ecology Centre in Wicklow Town to assert the traditional market rights of the town by setting up a stall and trading in the newly renovated market square. The traditional Market Day in Wicklow Town is a Wednesday, and by trading in the market square on the last Wednesday of April, the Dominican nuns and the councillor ensured that the town’s market rights would not automatically be extinguished by the 1995 Casual Trading Act.

De Burca pointed out that to ensure the continuation of traditional market rights which date back to the 1800’s, it was necessary for local people to set up a stall in town or village centres on the traditional market day and to trade for a short period of time. She also pointed out the importance of either photographing the event or having somebody like a member of the Garda Siochana present to witness the exercise of the market rights.

The Green Party councillor plans, in conjunction with local traders, to set up a stall in Bray which will trade organic produce outside the Town Hall on the Main Street on Saturday 29th April. “The aim of setting up the stall outside the Town Hall is to exercise Bray’s traditional market rights which apply on a Wednesday and a Saturday” she says.

“It is a case of use these rights or lose them!” says de Burca. “Market Rights are a Public Right that enshrine basic civil liberties and have constitutional protection. A town with no Market Rights has no right to hold a market. Instead towns across the country will have to rely on the flawed Casual Trading Act 1995 and on local authorities to provide local traders with trading facilities. Local Authorities and Government want to get rid of Market Rights as they give too much power to the people. The Casual Trading Act 1995 offers very little protection to the traders and has often been used to cripple market trading through prohibitive bye-laws”.

De Burca claims that markets in Ireland have not prospered with the Casual Trading Act 1995, and that instead, many traders have been denied trading opportunities. “The Competition Authority carried out a report into the Casual Trading Act 1995 and found it to be completely unsatisfactory in most aspects of its implementation” she says. “This is unacceptable at a time when the public demand for Farmer’s Markets is increasing enormously”.

“It is up to local people and local traders to ensure that their town has the right to hold markets into the future” says de Burca. “We must act now to certify those Market Rights. By setting up a stall of any kind and offering something for sale even for five minutes on the legal day(days) before May 1st 2006, traders will ensure that the right is kept alive for the next ten years”.

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Press Release by Deirdre