State-funded relocation grants and tax incentives for remote working are to be introduced by the Government to lure workers from cites to rural towns and villages.

Pubs are to become remote working hubs in this new plan to boost rural Ireland. There will be the provision of public sector hubs in regional towns for public servants to work in their local areas. As part of the plan, €1bn Rural Regeneration Fund will be used to convert old cinemas, theatres and town halls into 400 remote-working hubs with high-speed broadband.

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To view the plan published by the Government, click here

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar highlighted the reform of Duty of Car legislation as one of the key priorities for the Cabinet Sub Committee on Insurance following a meeting of the group on 24/3/21. RGDATA drafted an amendment to the Occupiers Liability Act to make the Duty of Care balanced, fair and reasonable and circulated it to all members of the group when it was first established in 2020. You can read the press release issued following the Subgroup meeting here

RGDATA has urged Tánaiste Leo Varadkar to appoint an expert to set out the reductions in premiums that should be applied as a result of the new Judicial Guidelines on minor injury pay outs and other insurance reforms.

“Shop owners and policyholders are sick of being fleeced by insurance companies. Don’t just leave it up to them to ponder on the impact that insurance reforms should have on premiums. Get an expert to set out in no uncertain terms the reductions the Government expects to be delivered. Our experience to date is that, if left to their own devices, insurance companies will use savings to drive up their own profits and hard pressed shop owners and other policy holders will still be paying unsustainably high premiums,” says RGDATA Director General Tara Buckley.

RGDATA has urged the Tánaiste to appoint an independent expert to review the reforms to date and set out the level of reduction that should be passed on to hard pressed shop owners and all other impacted by Ireland’s unsustainable insurance costs. The Cabinet sub committee on Insurance reform meets Wednesday 24 March to review progress on insurance reform. You can read the latest RGDATA letter here.

RGDATA will be responding to a public consultation on reform of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) launched yesterday (Monday 22nd March). If you have any views on this issue please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Justice & Equality Minister of State James Browne addressed the Rural Safety Forum meeting on 16/3/21 saying he looked forward to working with the group to address issues of concern to people living in rural areas with regard to crime, safety and security and mental and physical wellbeing.

A key action agreed was to set up a sub group to address issues to do with information sharing and retail crime and RGDATA Director General Tara Buckley will be a member of the group.

The new judicial guidelines are a “catalogue of injuries, i.e. listing the injuries from the very minor to the most catastrophic and prescribing brackets as to the level of damages each type of injury should attract”.

The Alliance for Insurance Reform has produced an overview of the new guidelines and how they should work. You can read it here.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, who is chairing a meeting of the Cabinet Sub Committee on Insurance this week (24/3/21) has responded to RGDATA’s letter about the disappointing reductions in pay outs for minor injuries agreed recently by the Judicial Council.

The Tánaiste insists that the Government will “hold insurance companies to account” to ensure that premiums are reduced as a result of the changes in pay outs. You can read the Tánaiste’s response here.

Trade Unions representing retail workers have set out their key demands in a document circulated to the Retail Forum. The ICTU document A New Deal for Retail and Distribution Workers calls for “No State Aid without decent work; decent pay; secure hours and benefits and a voice at work. You can read the document here.

“RGDATA members are community retailers that are extremely invested in their local area and many are already making positive interventions to address climate change and sustainability. Don’t let PR spin from the global multiples detract for the very real interventions being made at a local level by Irish family-owned shops.” RGDATA Director General Tara Buckley made the comments after a presentation by Sustainability Works to the Retail Forum on the threats and opportunities that climate change poses for retail businesses.

Threats include impact on supply chain from extreme weather events and opportunities identified include increased sales and reaching new consumers.

Check out the presentation here. Are you doing something in your shop to address climate change and sustainability? RGDATA wants to hear from you. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

Gardai have issued 244 €80 fines for not wearing a face mask amounting to €19,520 in total, according to a Garda statement regarding all fines issued for breaches of coronavirus regulation up to 11 March 2021.

“RGDATA welcomes this Garda activity and has urged Government to provide greater support to essential shops to deal with anti-maskers and the small minority who won’t comply with health & safety guidelines and regulations.” Tara Buckley, Director General RGDATA raised this issue with Minister Damien English at the Retail Forum on 11/3/2021. If you are having any problems dealing with anti-maskers, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.