'More Clonmel businesses closing and it's looking bleak across Tipperary,' says councillor

Many businesses across Tipperary are “struggling” following the Covid-19 lockdown measures, according to a local councillor.

Cllr Imelda Goldsboro told the July meeting of Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District that businesses in the district’s rural and urban areas are “on their knees”.

She called on the council to look at initiatives to highlight what each town and village in the district has to offer.

She said: “I’ve heard of more businesses going in Clonmel [in the Borough District]. They are on a shoestring at the moment. Some places aren’t paying wages. This is the tourist season and the good weather, so it’s looking quite bleak for September, October and going forward.”

Cllr Goldsboro said there are “quite a significant number” of elderly people in the district’s villages. “Ballingarry is a prime example - we don’t have a post office or a petrol station. We are losing and losing and it’s dwindling,” Cllr Goldsboro said.

“Calling a spade a spade, what we have in our local shop is couriers. The drivers are coming in non stop dropping in packages from online. It’s killing the local shops and it’s killing rural Ireland. If we were to go to these businesses with €50 to get two tubs of paint to brighten up the place we would be seen to be proactive.”

Cllr Kieran Bourke said the rates rebate is a “fantastic initiative”, highlighting that many businesses got a rebate of a minimum of €2,000. “If you didn’t pay your commercial rates last year you still got that rebate,” he said.

“There was a grant of up to €2,000 to make your business more Covid friendly. There are things being done for businesses. I know businesses that didn’t even close down and they got the rates rebate.”