RGDATA will be making a Pre Budget submission this week and we want to hear your views. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any ideas or suggestions that you have about how the Government should manage the state finances over the coming 12 months as independent retailers continue to deal with trading during Covid-19 and Brexit.

Minister for Retail Damien English has unveiled a new €5.5 million Covid-19 Online Retail Scheme with grants of up to €40k available. Click here for information.

The chair of Alcohol Action Ireland has called on the Government to introduce Minimum Unit Pricing for alcohol.  Click here to read the press release.

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar has responded to RGDATA regarding our call for the Occupiers Liability Amendment Act to be debated by the Dail. The Bill, drafted by RGDATA, addresses the need for changes in the onerous Duty of Care imposed on independent shops to make it more balanced, reasonable and fair. Click here to read the Tanaiste’s response. RGDATA has consistently argued that this legislative change is necessary to bring down the incidence and cost of claims and reduce unsustainable shop insurance costs.

The event will be webstreamed on www.compostable.ie at 9am to 10am on 3 September 2020.  If you would like to join, please register on www.compostable.ie 

The event will provide:
• Ways you can effectively manage food waste
• Cutting edge research by Red C into the state of food waste recycling in Ireland
• Latest thinking on the new waste policy for Ireland
• Compostable packaging solutions
Audience for the Event:
• Packaging Procurement Specialists
• Sustainability Managers
• Corporate Social Responsibility Managers
• Businesses such as Supermarkets, Hotels, Restaurants, Food Manufacturers
• Policy Makerse Materials & Food Waste Recycling

For further details click here.

RGDATA Director General Tara Buckley took part in a Retail Forum Conference call (Wednesday 29 July) with Department of Business officials to discuss the options that are being considered with regard to the regulations to make face coverings in shops mandatory. The Department of Health is currently considering various options with regard to how the regulations would be applied. In the meantime the Government is requesting that people wear face coverings in shops. However it is not mandatory until the Statutory Instrument is passed. It is not clear when the draft regulations will be ready but the Retail Forum will get further opportunities to review them. The Retail Forum has requested direct consultations with the Department of Health on the drafting of the regulations. If you have any issues or concerns regarding mandatory face coverings in shops please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Click here to see the latest posters from Government about face coverings.

The Alliance for Insurance Reform will be raising this issue at meetings with insurance  companies over the next few weeks. Tell us about the claims that your insurance company settled without a challenge. We need case studies urgently. Click here to update RGDATA on your experiences.

RGDATA is urging Government to set up a strong engine room to direct policy and programmes for Town Centre Renewal. RGDATA Director General Tara Buckley welcomed the €10 million funding for town centres in the Government’s July Stimulus Package. The full Stimulus package is available here. Read the Key points for SMEs and independent shops here. RGDATA wants your views on the package and what needs to be done to regenerate local economies, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. today.

RGDATA Director General Tara Buckley went to bat on behalf of shopkeepers following the announcement by Government that it would be introducing legislation to make face coverings in shops and shopping centres mandatory. Buckley went on local and national radio to argue that shopkeepers and their staff needed back up to deal with customers who refuse to wear a mask. “We expect the vast majority of people will wear a face mask when shopping as requested but there are always a difficult few that retailers and their staff will have to deal with. It is not fair to make shopkeepers or their staff the enforcers they will need back up from the Gardai,” Buckley told Sarah McInerney on Today on RTE Radio 1. Click here to listen to the interview.

RGDATA Director General Tara Buckley has welcomed the decision by the Low Pay Commission to delay making a recommendation to Government on raising the minimum wage. “In its submission to the Low Wage Commission RGDATA called for moratorium on minimum wage increases to allow employers time to deal with the fallout from Covid 19 and Brexit so we welcome this decision by the LWC not to make its usual July recommendation to Government.”  Click here.