Brendan Smith: Warns of High Street Crisis, Urges Retail Support
Brendan Smith warned that small and medium-sized businesses face huge cost pressures and that the Irish High Street has changed dramatically for the worse. He urged the government to reduce government-imposed retail costs, prioritise support for retailers and incentivise more residential and public realm investment in towns and cities.
The speaker said Irish retailers support over 370,000 jobs and many are concerned about the medium and long-term viability of their businesses. He emphasised the service retailers provide to customers and local communities and argued government-imposed costs need to be reduced and the sector prioritised for support.
He described how the landscape of the Irish High Street has changed dramatically and, in many towns, traditional shops selling drapery, groceries, gift items, hardware or household items have been largely replaced by service businesses. He warned this shift has been for the worse and highlighted the impact on town centres across the country.
He highlighted that international corporations trading in e-commerce pose particular difficulties for small and medium-sized Irish businesses trading online, intensifying competitive pressure on local retailers. He placed online competition alongside domestic cost pressures as central challenges for the retail sector.
He called for government action to reduce imposed costs on retail and to prioritise the sector for targeted support. He also urged town and city planners to engage proactively, recommending incentives for more residential development in towns and cities and continued investment in public realm projects, including through rural development funds and the UDRF.
Retail sector concerns
The speaker said Irish retailers support over 370,000 jobs and many are concerned about the medium and long-term viability of their businesses. He emphasised the service retailers provide to customers and local communities and argued government-imposed costs need to be reduced and the sector prioritised for support.
High Street transformation
He described how the landscape of the Irish High Street has changed dramatically and, in many towns, traditional shops selling drapery, groceries, gift items, hardware or household items have been largely replaced by service businesses. He warned this shift has been for the worse and highlighted the impact on town centres across the country.
Online competition and costs
He highlighted that international corporations trading in e-commerce pose particular difficulties for small and medium-sized Irish businesses trading online, intensifying competitive pressure on local retailers. He placed online competition alongside domestic cost pressures as central challenges for the retail sector.
Policy and planning recommendations
He called for government action to reduce imposed costs on retail and to prioritise the sector for targeted support. He also urged town and city planners to engage proactively, recommending incentives for more residential development in towns and cities and continued investment in public realm projects, including through rural development funds and the UDRF.
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Transcript
You know, there are huge cost pressures on small and medium-sized businesses. Irish retailers support over 370,000 jobs in every part of our country. Many retailers I have spoken to are very concerned about the medium and long-term viability of their businesses. Our retailers provide a great service to their customers and indeed to our local communities. The landscape of the Irish High Street as we knew it in the past has changed dramatically and unfortunately for the worse. Walk down a principal street in any town today and if there are businesses, they are principally in the services area and not your traditional shops selling drapery, groceries, gift items, hardware or household items. International corporations trading in e-commerce and selling products online pose particular difficulties for small and medium-sized Irish businesses trading online as well. Government-imposed costs on retail need to be reduced and government needs to prioritise the retail sector for support. A sector that contributes so much to employment in every parish in our country. Thank you, Ikean Córle. First of all, except what you're saying, Deputy, I think there is a fundamental issue with the urban landscape and high streets in particular, I think the world has changed and I do think in modern planning of towns and cities that needs to be taken on board. I think we need more residential in our towns and in our cities. I do believe there's a future for retail but it'll be a different kind of retail than sort of the big sort of multi-stores that we used to have in the past in city centres and in towns. I think town planners and city planners need to maybe more proactively engage on this and certainly from a government perspective we want to develop initiatives that would incentivise more residential and also public realm investments which some towns have been doing through the rural development funds or through the UDRF and that's where we have to go, I think. Thank you.