Strawberry grief forever

Shops selling fruit and vegetables are not happy about the competition from roadside vendors, it emerged at the September monthly meeting of Mullingar Municipal District.
The subject was raised by Cllr Liam McDaniel, but it emerged that the vendors are acting fully within their rights.
At the meeting, Cllr McDaniel asked for details of the number of roadside fruit and vegetable traders operating within the district over the summer months, the guidelines and regulations under which they operate and the level of revenue generated for Westmeath County Council by their presence.
He asked were they governed by health and safety regulations and employment regulations.
The response from the MMD, however, was that it does not have details on the numbers engaged in this activity. 
“Fruit and vegetable sellers of their own produce are specifically exempt from the National Casual Trading Act. Therefore no revenue accrues to the council,” the official response stated.
Cllr McDaniel was surprised that this was the case: “We have our own rate-paying businesses in the town, in a similar business,” he said, pointing out that it did not seem like as though there were a level playing field.
“There seems to be a growth in this and I’d be a bit concerned for our own businesses, rate-paying businesses,” he stated.
“Are you talking about the strawberry/potato market or are you talking about a wider issue?” Cllr McDaniel was asked by council official Declan Leonard.
“Well, probably the strawberry/potato market,” he responded, adding that they are now in place “from May to the end of August”.
“It’s four months of the year that our businesses in the town – our rate-paying businesses – have to compete with,” he said.