One disability group says pedestrianisation might be 'the only way to go' for outdoor food and drink.
It comes as legislation for pub and restaurant outdoor seating areas is to be extended to the end of November.
Joan Carthy is advocacy manager with the Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA).
She told Pat Kenny they understand the need, but it should be planned for properly.
"We don't want to be the people that are giving out all the time.
"We completely understand where the restaurants and pubs are coming from.
"They need to make their money back - it's hugely important that we find a way to do this.
"That it serves, I suppose, the businesses and the general public - and people with disabilities are part of the general public".
But she says some streets simply aren't designed with any extra space.
"It caused huge problems in relation to just trying to get around our cities and towns - whether you have a mobility issue or a visual impairment.
"There was a lot of clutter on the streets that came from the outside dining.
"People's handbags or shopping bags left on the ground, and just encroaching on the space that people need to be able to navigate their way around the streets.
"Some of our streets are just not made for outdoor dining, unless we're able to pedestrianise a lot of our roads within the cities.
"And in some cases, that might be the only way to go. But in other areas, we really need to have proper planning."
Space measured to 'absolute minimum'
And she says the ad-hoc approach to outdoor dining hasn't worked.
"Even with this legislation, there isn't enough consultation with people with disabilities.
"And even when there is, it's not necessarily taken onboard.
"That space that's there - it's measured out to the absolute minimum.
"So when tables and chairs are put out, they're possibly inside the minimum measurements given.
"But... as soon as somebody sits down, the chair gets moved back, the table gets moved out and all of a sudden you're out into the walkway.
"So it just makes people very vulnerable trying to get up and down the streets".
