Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 November 2020
36. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the position regarding the sale of seasonal goods such as seasonal or religious decorations for Christmas; if it will be ensured such items shall be deemed as essential services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34976/20]
View answerChristmas is approaching and every town in the country has a local producer of Christmas trees, advent wreaths and wreaths for graves. It is a time of year which is close to people’s hearts and they remember the dead. I ask the Tánaiste to ensure these producers are deemed an essential service and give some clarity to the people involved in the business.
I thank Deputy Daly for asking this question. Under level 5 of the plan for living with Covid-19, only essential retail outlets will remain open. The regulations clearly set out the temporary restrictions and it is important to reinforce the point that they are temporary. The regulations list the essential services and retail outlets under level 5 that can open.
Level 5 does not restrict people from purchasing any product, including Christmas trees and wreaths to which the Deputy referred. All products are available and can still be purchased depending on their seasonal nature. It does, however, restrict people from physically entering non-essential stores. We try to discourage people from unnecessary shopping journeys for their own safety and to stop the spread of the virus. We recognise, as the Tánaiste said, the pressure that this has put the retail sector under and that this is a very difficult for retail businesses, whether local producers or otherwise. It is difficult, which is the reason we are working with the sector to support it and help it through this very difficult time. Businesses are also encouraged to follow the regulations and laws in the spirit of protecting customers, staff and the community.
Mixed retailers have been asked to separate their stock and only sell the items that are essential. While seasonal or religious decorations for Christmas should not be purchased physically in stores, customers can continue to purchase them via online or phone ordering for collection and delivery. I emphasise that there is the option to pick up the phone and make an order. Many local suppliers are offering this service and have adapted their business in recent months to prepare for Covid and Christmas. All those products are available either online, through click and collect, click and delivery or phone order. Naturally, we are trying to encourage much more delivery, where possible, but the option to collect is also available. All the goods the Deputy mentioned can be sourced in the weeks and months ahead.
I thank the Minister of State for his response. I ask him to take into consideration that many of the types of seasonal retailers that I am speaking about operate in an outdoor or semi-outdoor environment. Many of these providers who do this work every year but perhaps only for a short window of time have invested throughout the year and this is the only time they can make a living. The evidence is increasing that indoor, poorly-ventilated spaces pose the largest risk. I ask that the Government consider making an exception for businesses selling Christmas trees, taking into account that it is essentially an outdoor activity.
I thank the Deputy for his comments. Naturally, all areas for controlling the virus and its spread are being observed and dealt with by the Department of Health and all other Departments, in conjunction with NPHET. All of the evidence is being considered and it all indicates that the best way of stopping the virus is to limit and reduce our contacts, be that in a social, shopping or working context. We are trying, through these restrictions, to reduce the movements of and connections made by people. It goes against the grain for all of us living in Ireland because we like connecting, meeting people, doing our shopping, going to work and all of that. The advice we have received is to limit these activities under these restrictions. That is why we are asking that non-essential retail is conducted in other ways that do not involve encouraging people to leave their homes to make a purchase. We will work with all sectors to ensure that all of those products are available and can be sourced. Many of the companies involved in the growing of Christmas trees or producing wreaths or other items over the last year have put their plans in place. They will be in a position to trade and reach their customers. This will be facilitated and will happen in the weeks ahead.
I thank the Minister of State for his detailed response but in the next few weeks, it will be important to take a nuanced approach to every single item covered by levels 3, 4 and 5 and to have particular regard to making exceptions.
We should analyse the risk of every activity to make sure that as many people as possible can earn a few quid in the run-up to Christmas.
That is our focus as a Department, working with the retail sector, the business community and all those enterprises that are involved in providing products and services, some of which will be in greater demand around the month of December and for the Christmas season. We are working and will work with all those sectors through the various Departments on a range of supports and initiatives. The Tánaiste referred to some earlier around communication plans, marketing plans, how we manage the public realm and make sure that the products can be sourced. That is what we are involved in. In the past seven or eight months, many of the companies the Deputy referred to have availed of the numerous grants available, including the trading online voucher scheme and the online retail voucher scheme being offered through Enterprise Ireland. I believe seven or eight companies from the Deputy's own county of Kerry availed of that scheme and I announced others yesterday.
Companies are adapting. They are finding ways to reach their customers in a safer way as we are living with Covid-19. That is exactly what we are involved in but to be absolutely clear to everybody, it will be possible to purchase all the products people want during the month of December. All the companies involved in the growing and the production of all those products will be able to find a way to trade. That is what we are about and it is what we have been doing with the sector over the past couple of months. Every area, including business organisations, retail and sporting, will be able to trade. That is what we will try to work on also.
