Independents critical to economic recovery says RGDATA
In a document submitted to the Oireachtas Special Committee on June 4, 2020, RGDATA has stated that independent food retailers are of critical importance to any economic recovery.
Describing local grocery outlets as “at the heart of most communities” and a “catalyst for economic, community and social engagement in towns, villages and urban districts”, RGDATA believes more support needs to be available for SME businesses.
A range of measures that the Committee should recommend to the government include establishing a national taskforce on town centre regeneration and putting SMEs at the heart of Government decision making.
The government is also advised to keep business costs low and to closely scrutinise banks and insurance sectors.
New imaginative schemes are required to keep people in employment and support job creation rather than redundancies at this time.
“The Covid-19 outbreak has had significant impacts for Ireland causing loss of life, inflicting heartbreak and hardship on our people. As a country we need to review our response to this pandemic to determine if and how we could have responded better and managed the spread of the outbreak and our response,” said RGDATA
“As a member of the broader international community Ireland also needs to press for a review of the causes and spread of Covid-19 to understand how we can avoid such a similar public health catastrophic event in the future. It is vital that measures be initiated to ensure that the hardship, sacrifice and loss sustained as a consequence of Covid-19 is not repeated. A positive lesson learned is that we can pull together as a community and we need to build on this to deliver better, safer places for us to live, work, and enjoy a healthier, more sustainable way of living.”
RGDATA represents 3,500 local essential shops, convenience stores, and supermarkets that 9,000 people across Ireland.
For more information, read the full document here.
