Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 November 2020
35. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department will actively promote shopping locally to retain money in local economies and sustain them during this very difficult period. [34935/20]
View answerMy question is about the promotion of shopping locally and the retention of money in local economies. I have put the question forward in a constructive way because we are in a difficult situation at the moment. These matters are important at any time, as I am sure the Tánaiste will agree, but that is particularly true at the moment because of the difficulties of retaining money in local economies, getting money spent and, very importantly, keeping people in jobs and getting people back into jobs.
My Department is working with the LEOs on a local media campaign to support the "Shop Local" initiatives that are already active across the country. The purpose of this campaign will be to encourage communities to support businesses in their area by shopping locally and safely.
Even while under level 5 Covid-19 restrictions where people cannot physically enter certain stores, they can continue to buy from them through remote ordering. Orders can be placed for products, including non-essential items, either online or by phone, and fulfilled through home delivery or collection. The growth in demand for shopping online is driving the retail sector to also develop its online trading capability to enhance its competitiveness. This is an important route for retail businesses in the current crisis and will be an important element in their recovery over the longer term.
The €2,500 trading online vouchers are available to help small and microenterprises with very limited or no e-commerce presence to get online, boost their sales and reach new markets, particularly during this difficult period when so many businesses are closed to the public. Businesses can also apply for a second voucher where they have successfully utilised their first one, which brings the overall total voucher amount available up to €5,000. As of 6 November, 13,789 applications have been received, of which 10,721 have been approved so far, to a value of just over €25 million.
The Covid-19 online retail scheme has been introduced to support Irish-owned retail businesses to rapidly adapt and enhance their online business capability as they work within the Covid-19 public health measures. It helps to position retail businesses for recovery in the future, once the public health emergency and related measures have passed. Grants ranging from €10,000 to €40,000 are payable to successful applicants under the scheme. An additional €5 million has been provided as part of budget 2021. As of 6 November, 373 applications had been received, of which 185 retailers have been approved so far, to a value of €6.58 million.
I thank retailers and their customers for their efforts at this difficult time. By each of us following the spirit of these new rules and working together, we can hopefully return to a lower level of the living with Covid-19 framework.
I thank the Tánaiste for his very comprehensive answer. There are many things beyond our control but a number of things are within our control. One of these is controlling the pandemic. Deputies on this side of the House are also active in telling people to obey the rules to try to push back the virus and reopen employment. We also encourage people to spend money locally in towns and villages to keep people in work. This is not about protectionism or isolationism. It is very important.
I welcome the Tánaiste's comment that businesses will have access for a second time to the online voucher scheme. That is very good. The reason I raise the scheme is that more work is needed to promote it. I am aware of it and I tell people about it and encourage them to take it up. Some have done so and some have not done so. There is still reticence among older traders to do this. It is important that we continue to promote the scheme.
The Deputy is correct. We are trying to ensure that people are aware of these schemes. A local radio campaign will start in the week beginning 19 November for an initial period of two weeks. The campaign will also be activated through the local enterprise offices and local authorities with the support of Enterprise Ireland and local business groups. We particularly want to encourage people to support local businesses, place orders online or over the phone, and to also consider the possibility of home delivery or collection.
That campaign will be very welcome. We also need to get the message across to people that this is needed not just in the run-in to Christmas but beyond Christmas because we are probably facing a difficult 2021. It will be a difficult year. I hope that, as jobs start opening up and money starts circulating again, the position will improve.
One issue that needs to be addressed is the rates charged by local authorities. Unfortunately, many local authorities are going through their budgets this week and they will have a shortfall. They cannot do anything about that and those with which I am familiar have been very creative in trying to keep the books balanced and local services functioning. Local authorities do not yet have certainty. It is important that they have certainty because this is directly related to local retail trade. Retailers, particularly those that have been closed down for a sustained period such as hairdressers and other services, will not be in a position to get up and running and to start paying rates again next year. Certainty is needed on this issue at this point in time.
I appreciate how difficult it must be for retailers, hairdressers, barbers and any business that has been closed during this period for a second time this year. It is extremely difficult for the people who work in and own these businesses. From the Government’s point of view, we would like to be in a position to give people as much certainty as soon as possible. The problem with this virus and the nature of this pandemic is that it is uncertain. We would love to be able to say with certainty to people that they can open their business on a particular date but we are just not at that point yet. We are only into the third week of a six-week period of restrictions. We will need to see more data for the next couple of weeks before we can let people know when and what can be reopened. We will give people as much advance notice as possible so that they can let their staff know to be available, buy in stock and make all the preparations they need to make.
