Small businesses in urgent need of a lifeline says Lowry
Between July and November, approximately 200 restaurants, cafés and food outlets were forced to close across the country, Deputy Lowry points out
‘A growing number of owners of small businesses across the Tipperary/North West Kilkenny region are struggling to keep their doors open in the face of rising costs. Sadly, many have already succumbed to the pressure and have closed the doors on businesses they have worked long and hard to establish’ says Deputy Michael Lowry.
‘More than one-million people across Ireland are employed by Small and Medium businesses, but this number will continue to decline as growing numbers of business owners, particularly in the retail and hospitality sector, can no longer sustain the financial pressure they face.
‘Employers in these sectors have no wish to deprive their staff of additional benefits, their workers are their most valuable asset. Yet increased labour costs are just one of the growing financial burdens they are struggling with, underlined by the uncertainty that these costs could increase even further.
‘The impact of this on both the hospitality and retail sectors has and will continue to be detrimental to our towns and villages’ says Deputy Lowry.
‘The closure of one door can have a wide-ranging impact. Jobs are lost, a service is no longer provided locally, a premises is left idle, a community is deprived of a service and, in many cases, this can trigger a decline that is all but impossible to halt’
‘Many of these small businesses are a lifeline in local towns and villages. They provide a service and they create local jobs. For people of all ages, cafes and restaurants provide a social hub and a meeting place for those who may have no other social outlet – this sector has been hit particularly hard in recent years.
‘Last year, between July and November, approximately 200 restaurants, cafés and food outlets were forced to close across the country. They were joined by a multitude of independent retail businesses and small enterprises. Figures for this year are unlikely to show an improvement.
‘Small businesses need to be heard, they need help. The incoming Government must recognise this as a matter of priority,’ he concludes.