Mobile take away food business under threat from casual trading laws.
Brendan and Anne Scallan were unemployed and facing emigration when they decided to invest in a food van and take to the road to try to make a living.
The couple bought the chip van and began trading at the Bullring in Wexford. Business was so good that they were able to take out a loan to buy a bungalow in Oldtown just outside Wexford Town. The couple have now been working full-time on the food truck for the last three years. Business was going well for the Scallans until Wexford Corporation decided to introduce a designated trading area under new by-laws in December 1982. This by-law also reduced trading hours to between 9.00 am and 6.00 pm.
Can you tell me that people are going to buy chips at 9 o'clock in the morning or 10 o'clock in the morning?
The couple continued to operate as normal but in September 1983, they were approached by the Gardaí and told to leave.
Local independent councillor Phil Kelly has been supportive of the Scallan case and has lobbied for them be allowed to operate under longer opening hours. Phil Kelly believes that the Scallans have been forced to stop trading in what was a successful business.
Denis Burke, from the Wexford Chamber of Commerce, says there is a designated area in the town for casual trading. He says that the Scallans do not provide employment, and do not pay any rates. Chamber of Commerce members involved in the food trade provide employment and pay rates and are unhappy with the competition they face from the Scallans.
The Scallans are left with a large bank loan, an overdraft and a monthly mortgage repayment. Anne Scallan says that it will take a miracle for them to survive.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 20 February 1984. The reporter is Jackie Hayden.
