Soapbox: Kiosk Café's Paul Reid: 'I don't think anybody in their right mind would open a business here'

Amid a backdrop of rising commercial rates, minimum wage increases and an incoming auto-enrolment pension scheme, local business owners have bemoaned a perceived lack of support from Waterford City and County Council.

The spat reached boiling point in late November as the Waterford Business Group, a group of almost 90 city-centre retailers, publicly condemned councillors for passing a 2026 budget that will see rates rise by 3.5%.

‘The Kiosk Café’ owner Paul Reid described the increases as “just another nail in the coffin for a lot of businesses who are already struggling.” 

Mr Reid has owned The Kiosk Café for 16 years, but believes that it would be impossible to get the same business off the ground in 2025.

“I don't think anybody in their right mind would try and open a business here in the current climate,” Mr Reid said.

“The type of person we want in our city centre, for me, hasn't improved- the person who's going to come in, do some shopping and have a coffee and then go home.” 

He cited a lack of public parking, accessibility issues and a dearth of internationally recognised retail offerings as pitfalls for city-centre businesses.

“If I had never been in Waterford before, and I came to Waterford for the first time, I wouldn't come back here, because it's like snakes and ladders trying to drive around the town.” 

While the City Centre Management group remains in place as a forum between local businesses and the council, Mr. Reid said further communication was necessary.

“There just seems to be a big disconnect between the council and local businesses.

“There needs to be a middle person there as well. For me, we have some other organisations out there who are supposedly in the middle…maybe I shouldn't say this, but we’ve too many people who like getting their picture in the paper and actually not doing too much.”