From this week’s Galway City Tribune – Enjoying an ice cream in the hazy days of summer in Salthill could be a thing of the past, with traders claiming proposed new bylaws would make their businesses unviable.

There would be a 20-minute limit for ice cream vans parking up to sell to the public if the draft 2023 bylaws for casual trading are enacted replacing the 2011 regulations.

The rule has been branded ridiculous and “an absolute joke” by the owner of the Americano ice cream vans and kiosks, Garry Murphy.

Mr Whippie, aka Jim O’Hanlon, who has been selling ice creams at Blackrock Beach for 35 years, said the change would put him off the road.

“These people don’t understand the nature of casual trading. It can take me 20 minutes to set up. Do they seriously expect me to serve two or three customers then tell the rest of the queue I’m off,” said Mr Murphy.

“It just wouldn’t be safe to pull out when small kids are gathering around an ice cream van. These people aren’t living in the real world.”

Both operators had been taken to court in recent years for not having a casual trading licence in Galway City but the cases had been thrown out. They have tried to apply but failed to secure one as there is nothing in the bylaws – current or proposed – which would allow them to hold a mobile licence.
This is a shortened preview version of this story. To read the rest of the article, see the March 31 edition of the Galway City Tribune. You can support our journalism and buy a digital edition HERE.