Independent retailers Archives - Ireland's Forecourt & Convenience Retailer

Budget response: Independent retailers need more help to pay rocketing energy bills

Wendy McCague — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 12:24:08 +0000

UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt should have done more to help struggling independent retailers with sky-high energy bills in today’s budget, the trade association which represents independent retailers has said.

Responding to today’s autumn statement, which announced cuts of £35billion and tax increases amounting to £billion, the Fed’s National President, Jason Birks, said that more independent retailers could be forced out of business as a result.

He added: “As a government that has stood as the party for businesses, this statement does not benefit independent retailers.

“Independent retailers are the heart of many communities and the decision made by the government to raise the energy cap to £3,000 may result in the closures of small, independent stores across the country. For many rural areas, these stores are the only access many residents have to a shop without needing to travel. For many, visiting a store is the only time they see someone during the day. This in-person contact is essential for the well-being of community members. Loss of these because of the strain that will be placed on businesses is going to have profound impacts on many communities.”

He continued: “It is essential that small business is supported and helped through this time of crisis. Lack of support is unthinkable and the added expense to an already squeezed budget could just mean the end for many businesses. This is unimaginable and the government must act now to ensure that this doesn’t happen.”

The government’s decision to raise the energy cap to £3000 without guaranteed support past April is a terrifying prospect, Mr Birks added. Small businesses are already struggling to survive the pressure that is the cost-of-living crisis – the decision to further strain businesses will be crippling. The Fed hopes that the Chancellor’s pledge to target relief at businesses will prioritise struggling small businesses to help them survive during this time of crisis.

The Fed calls for the government to consider the impact that these measures will have on independent retailers and hopes to work with ministers to find support for those, who throughout the pandemic, were a lifeline for this country.

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New Clean Air solid fuel regs to come into force

Wendy McCague — Thu, 20 Oct 2022 13:20:20 +0000

A range of tighter Solid Fuel regulations aimed at reducing air pollution comes into force at the end of this month, with Environment and Transport Minister Eamon Ryan saying they are needed to curb air pollution and Ireland’s carbon emissions.

The new regulations regarding solid fuels for domestic heating will come into effect on 31 October 2022 and will hit householders, fuel retailers and those involved in the solid fuel industry, including producers or importers.

The new rules will see certain types of coal and wood banned from use for domestic heating and also severely limit the sale and use of turf. There have been concerns they could add to upward pressure on fuel prices as suppliers have to find new sources of more tightly regulated fuels.

The new rules have been vehemently opposed in some quarters including the rural group of independent TDs, including West Cork TD Michael Collins, who has accused the coalition government of blocking an emergency debate on the energy crisis and ‘giving the proverbial finger’ to families struggling to heat their homes this winter.

Some of the changes that will apply when the regulations come into effect are:

Coal products and manufactured solid fuels must have a smoke emission rate of less than 10 grams per hour – this is the same as currently in force in low smoke zones.
Manufactured part biomass products must have a smoke emission rate of less than 5 grams per hour
Coal products and manufactured solid fuels, including manufactured part biomass products, must have a sulphur content of less than 2% by weight on a dry ash-free basis, and subject to a market assessment, from 1 September 2025 this will be reduced to 1%
Fuel products which are 100% biomass products including, wood products and wood logs, supplied in units of two cubic metres or less, must have a moisture content of less than 25% (from 1 September 2025, this will be reduced to less than 20%)
Wood logs supplied in units of two cubic metres or more shall be accompanied by a notice outlining the need to store and season wet wood until it is sufficiently dried
It will not be possible to sell turf via retail, online or other media, in public houses or other public places

Full details on all of the changes and how these will affect consumers and retailers can be found at the Government Information Site on Solid Fuel rules.

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Ireland’s shops re-open – but why were the multiples allowed to keep selling non-essentials?

Julie Nash — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 15:14:13 +0000

As the six-week lockdown in Ireland came to an end, there was a high level of dissatifaction among small independents and their representative organisations such as Retail Excellence as to why – why were independents told to cease trading completely for six weeks while many large stores and multiples were free to continue selling ‘non-essential’ items as normal?

As Covid restrictions eased on Tuesday 1st December, moving from Level 5 to Level 3, many small independent retailers were perplexed and disappointed that they were shutdown completely during ‘the golden quarter’ in the run up to Christmas, while large competitors continued selling non-essential items with no apparent restrictions.

Retail Excellence’s CEO Duncan Graham highlighted the inconsistencies. The organisation had called on the Irish government to ensure that those retailers who were permitted to stay open, should restrict their sales to essential items only – to enable a level, fair playing field for small independent retailers forced to close.

He said that the initial restrictions were unfair – “with large retailers abusing the fact that they are allowed to remain open by selling non-essential items.

“This rubs salt into the wounds of smaller retailers who are forced to close but who now see larger competitors take advantage of their closure.”

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