‘Tighter restrictions not the start to new year many businesses were hoping for’

The introduction of further restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19 has been described as ‘not the start to the new year that businesses were hoping for’ by the Arklow and District Chamber President, Garrett Dempsey.

Speaking after the announcement of new measures last week, Mr Dempsey echoed the sentiments of many chamber members and encouraged everyone to follow public health guidance. ‘ The Government’s announcement this week of tighter restrictions is not the start to the new year that many businesses and the local economy were hoping for. While we must do all we can to support the collective effort to keep people safe, it is understandably frustrating to local businesses that we find ourselves in the position of closing our doors again.

‘We welcome the beginning of the vaccination programme but must urge government to ensure adequate resources are dedicated to the acceleration of this programme. It is equally important that Government continues to support businesses through these unprecedented challenges and that they now, as a matter of urgency, increase and expand to the supports already in place for impacted businesses.’

Mr Dempsey said members of the Chamber of Commerce should use any financial supports available to them. He called on everyone in the community to work to ensure the latest measures result in a reduction in positive cases of coronavirus.