Galway Bay fm newsroom - Regulations concerning outdoor dining facilities this summer, and the marshalling of traffic at beaches and beauty spots, came up for discussion at this week's meeting of Galway County Council.
The matter was brought into further focus following a weekend in which people thronged to the seaside in Connemara.
Being what is termed 'Summer Ready' is a mantra in local authorities in tourism destinations, such as County Galway.
But summer, in every sense of the word, came early in Connemara this past weekend with beaches thronged all along the coast. The iconic Roundstone beaches had huge footfall.
But once again, as in some other locations, the volume of traffic and car parking was a difficult issue with roadways choc-a-bloc.
The regulation of traffic is no less complicated for Galway County Council than is the outdoor summer dining.
Senior planning official, Valerie Loughnane said what is known as a Section 254 licence may be given to business concerns where items of furniture and objects placed outside are removable and taken back in at specified times.
However, where facilities are more prominent, planning permission will be required.
Facilities may not be set up on footpaths in towns and villages and the encroachment onto streets will reduce parking spaces, Valerie Loughnane said - and this raises other issues.
