Employer group, Ibec, has said that exhaustive efforts must be made by everyone to ensure that the latest wave of Covid restrictions are effective in addressing the health crisis facing the country and that this is the last lockdown.
Ibec CEO Danny McCoy said the business community supports the Government's call for a collective effort in suppressing the rising number of Covid cases and will play its part in this endeavour. This includes facilitating the need for non-essential workers to work from home.
"The speed by which vaccines are rolled out will be central to efforts to tackle the health crisis," Mr McCoy said. "Once again, Ibec is calling on Government to urgently and collectively work with business to expedite the widespread rollout of Covid vaccines and promote a greater role for speedier and cost-effective Antigen testing.
"The exceptional performance of the overall economy over the past 12 months, as reflected in yesterday’s Exchequer Figures, highlights that Government has the necessary resources to support those sectors which are continuing to bear the heaviest burden of the ongoing restrictions."
Retail Excellence has described halting click and collect services for non-essential retailers under the Government's latest Covid-19 restrictions as "another setback" for retailers.
This evening the Government confirmed that such services by non-essential retailers must cease with immediate effect, although click and deliver can continue.
Duncan Graham, Managing Director of Retail Excellence, said that while the retail industry fully acknowledged that further restrictions were necessary given the rapid escalation in Covid-19 case numbers, it was yet another setback for the industry.
Duncan Graham said that non-essential retailers closed their doors on New Year's Eve and have fully complied with what has been asked of them by the Government.
"It is clear that the country is facing an enormous challenge and of course we acknowledge that the Government must act to halt the spread of Covid-19, but there is little public health risk in allowing customers collect goods from non-essential retailers who remain shuttered because of the lockdown," he said.
"We feel this move, however well-intentioned to restrict people's movement, will have a disproportionately negative effect on smaller retailers," he added.
Mr Graham said the industry need to move now to substantial discussions as to how Government can support retailers, particularly in respect of rents and other fixed costs.
"Many of our members will have been closed for almost half a year by the time we get to the anniversary of the pandemic in March, and they need help urgently if they are to reopen when this emergency passes," he stated.
Retail Excellence's deputy chair Jean McCabe said that many small businesses will not be able to move their activity online, and will lose out if click-and-collect retail services are prohibited under the Government's proposed latest Covid-19 restrictions.
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Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Philip Boucher Hayes, Jean McCabe said significant investment is required to migrate online.
She said that despite support from Enterprise Ireland and similar funding bodies, many business owners are "fearful" and "daunted" by the prospect of having to move activity online.
She called for more supports for SMEs during this current surge in Covid-19, "so that we can keep people employed and ensure that businesses are in a position to continue to trade and continue to employ people."
"There's a lot of investment required, and a lot of time and effort and expertise," she stressed.
That was a sentiment echoed by Chambers Ireland this evening.
Chief Executive, Ian Talbot, urged Government to expand financial supports for impacted businesses.
"We must also move to focus on the exit strategy for viable businesses, which have been surviving based on the Government supports available but will need some breathing space to rebuild their businesses once the worst of the threat subsides," he said.
"With Exchequer Returns in a better position than expected, the availability of low-interest finance through the ECB, and Budget 2021 having been prepared on a very cautious basis, we cannot afford to under-react to the challenge facing us."
He added that without such interventions, the growing debt burden experienced by businesses will likely trigger a wave of insolvencies and job losses that will do permanent damage to local economies throughout the country, potentially coinciding with when we are able to return to some form of normality.
"Having incurred a deficit of €19 billion to support the economy in 2020, Government must continue to invest in the economy so we ensure viable businesses do not fall at the final hurdle," Mr Talbot stated.
