Read the Taoiseach’s statement here and the Essential Retail Outlets for Level 5 info here and Essential Services for Level 5 here.

RGDATA Director General Tara Buckley made a presentation to Sandyford Business District Innovation Week on Town Centre Regeneration and called for a national body to oversee the implementation of the Government’s Town Centre First Policy. Click here to see the presentation.

RGDATA has made further representations to Government about the need for support for independent shopkeepers and their staff as they seek to ensure that customers comply with the Covid-19 guidelines and advice. RGDATA has made the Tanaiste and the Minister for Retail aware of further incidences of abuse of shop owners and staff members when seeking to ensure that customers wore masks and complied with social distancing in store. RGDATA wrote to the Ministers for Health, Business and Justice over two weeks ago seeking further supports and on the spot fines by gardai for not wearing face covering and for abuse of shop owners and employees.

Heritage Minister Malcolm Noonan has praised the co-operative impact of the Collaborative Town Centre Health Check and how it brings all the key players together to gather evidence and data about their town. Speaking at the online launch of the launch of the Sligo Collaborative Town Centre Health Check Report the Minister said he had just come from a press conference outlining the planned increased investment in Heritage, bio-diversity and town centre renewal in Budget 2021. RGDATA Director General Tara Buckley attended the zoom launch. Click here for details.

Tanaiste & Minister for Enterprise Leo Varadkar thanked RGDATA members for all their efforts to date in delivering essential retail services to communities. The Tanaiste was chairing the Brexit Enterprise Forum (7/10) and he made the comment in response to RGDATA Director General Tara Buckley’s intervention.

Buckley told the meeting that the independent wholesalers were engaged in tremendous work preparing for Brexit and that independent retailers were still focussing on delivering essential retail in a safe way for their staff and customers and ensuring compliance with all the Covid-19 health and safety measures and mandatory face coverings.

The Forum heard updates from all the various Government Departments about getting Ireland Brexit Ready. The Tanaiste and other Government contributors emphasised that despite all the pressures from Covid 19 Irish businesses must also focus on getting Brexit ready over the next weeks.

Click here for a range of Government and other supports that are available to assist retail and food businesses in getting Brexit ready.

The November 12 deadline for installation of the Section 22 Structural Separation measures in all mixed trading outlets is fast approaching. Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any issues of concern relating to meeting this deadline.

RGDATA has urged Government to amend the Mandatory Mask regulations to provide more support for shop owners and their staff when dealing with abusive anti-maskers in their stores. RGDATA has suggested amendments to the Statutory Instrument to include specific penalties for people who abuse retail staff when they are asked to comply with Covid-19 safety measures. Click here to read the letter to Government. RGDATA Director General Tara Buckley did an interview on Galway Talks to highlight the issue and call for more stringent measures to support retailers and their staff. Jim Kenny from Centra Blackrock went on RTE’s Liveline to highlight an incident in his store.

Please take 10 minutes to fill out our Covid-19 member survey. This will help us to make representations on your behalf and highlight the issues that are impacting on independent retailers. Click here to do the survey.

A key RGDATA campaign for the past number of years has been to get reductions in the cost of shop insurance. This is a long, frustrating process but there have been some developments recently that are giving the Government a new impetus on this issue. The Central Bank has raised concerns that there is dual pricing going on in the insurance industry and the CCPC has separately raised concerns that there may be cooperation going on between companies to gain an unfair advantage on price.

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar is heading up the Cabinet’s insurance sub committee and Cabinet has now agreed to advance plans to increase competition in the insurance industry, introduce tougher sanctions for insurance fraud, increase transparency in the industry and reform of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board.

Separately, the Law Reform Commission has published its report looking at the constitutional feasibility of the Oireachtas legislating to cap personal injury awards, and has deemed this to be constitutionally acceptable. The Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee of the Judicial Council, which is looking at the level of damages awarded for claims, is expected to publish its initial draft guidance by the end of this month. RGDATA put insurance reform at the top of our submissions on the programme for Government and our Budget 2021 submission.

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar last week chaired the first meeting of a special ministerial committee on insurance which was attended by Ministers Paschal Donohoe; Michael McGrath and Helen McEntee.
The Tanaiste reported after the meeting that Justice Minister McEntee was working to enact the perjury bill, which would make it an offence to make false or exaggerated insurance claims, by the end of the year.
“She will also examine the Occupiers Liability Act, placing more responsibility on an individual not to injure themselves on a premises”. RGDATA has circulated a draft Occupiers Liability Amendment Bill to all the Ministers involved in the Committee and is urging them to pass the Bill to make the Duty of Care fairer and more proportionate.