Commenting on the decision of the Irish Government to close ‘non-essential’ retail, Retail NI Chief Executive Glyn Roberts said:
“I was in contact today with our Irish counterparts, Retail Excellence Ireland, regarding this crisis, to convey that our thoughts are very much with their members as they face incredibly difficult times ahead”
“Let’s be clear – the Executive should not be considering a similar shutdown for Northern Ireland. Such an action would result in the loss of tens of thousands of jobs in retail, the supply chain and on our high streets. Retail Excellence Ireland estimate this move will cost 60,000 jobs in RoI and the Executive needs to immediately rule out such a destructive move”
“Since the closure of the hospitality sector on Friday, many of our members in high streets across Northern Ireland are reporting a significant loss of trade and footfall. The Executive should not make a bad situation even worse”
“The Irish Government has stated they are putting restrictions on the ability of citizens to travel beyond their counties and we fully expect that we will not see a mass movement of southern shoppers to Northern Ireland”
