RGDATA’s Tara Buckley is a member of the Government’s Advisory Group on Town Centres which met for the second time on Friday 5/3/21. Buckley told Minister Peter Burke, who chaired the meeting, that Irish Towns needed an agile entity to co-ordinate action on towns and to roll out a Collaborative Town Centre Health Checks and Town Plans nationally.

New Judicial Guidelines on minor injury pay outs published on Saturday do not go far enough and will not have the impact required to bring down the cost of shop insurance.

You can help us convince our politicians that they must step up now and make the changes necessary to reduce the insurance premiums that are crippling businesses like yours.

Tell your local TDs that the Judges have not gone far enough – these guidelines will  only bring damages for minor, fully-recovered injuries down by 52%. What we need is an 80% reduction in payments for these minor injuries to bring us in line with England and Wales and get insurance costs down to affordable levels.

RGDATA and the Alliance for Insurance Reform are campaigning on this issue and we need your help to get the message loud and clear to Government to stop faffing about and actually make the interventions required to bring down the cost of insurance. Here are some key points you can make to your local politician  via email, letter, phone or face to face in your store. You can find your local TD at www.whoismytd.com

Here are some of the key points to make to your local politicians:
 

• Shop insurance costs are completely unsustainable – give details of what you are paying and the impact this is having on your business.
• Urge them to reduce awards for damages for minor, fully recoverable injuries by 80%. The Judges have not make this decision so the Politicians must step up.
• The Law Reform Commission says the Government can cap  damages – there is no constitutional barrier.
• Introduce a Super tax on insurance company profits for those that don’t reduce premiums and pass on savings.
• Pass the RGDATA Occupiers Liability Amendment to balance the Duty of Care.
• Set up a Garda Insurance Fraud Unit.

RGDATA has urged the Government to “stop faffing about” and introduce the reforms necessary to bring down the cost of shop insurance. This follows the publication of new Judicial Guidelines on minor injury pay outs that do not go far enough.

RGDATA and the Alliance for Insurance Reform (AIR) say that Government must step up now to reduce pay outs for fully recoverable injuries by 80%. “This is the only way to bring down the totally unsustainable cost of shop insurance,” says RGDATA’s Tara Buckley.

Read RGDATA’s letter to Tanaiste Leo Varadkar, Chair of the Government’s Insurance Sub Committee here. Read the AIR press release here. Read the AIR letter to politicians here. Want to help with this campaign: Make your voice heard.

The Low Pay Commission, which makes annual recommendations to Government on the rate of the National Minimum Wage is inviting submissions on the National Minimum Wage 2022 by March 7.

RGDATA will make a submission on behalf of independent retailers. If you have any views on this issue email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or if you wish to make your own submission by post to:
The Secretary, Low Pay Commission, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, 23 Kildare Street, Dublin 2.

Or Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

RGDATA Director General Tara Buckley will represent Independent Retailers at the Food Safety Authority Retail Forum on Thursday, 25th February at 11am.

The focus of the meeting will be Brexit matters and representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and from the Environmental Health Service of the HSE based in Dublin Port will be in attendance.  If you have any Brexit related issue/query that you would like RGDATA to raise please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

RGDATA continues to raise the issue of aggressive anti-maskers and others who are refusing to wear face masks in shops with the Taoiseach, Minister for Health, Minister for Business, Minister for Retail and the Retail Forum.

If you are experiencing any issues with anti-maskers or others who are refusing to comply with the health and safety guidelines and regulations please update RGDATA by email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. All information assists us in our campaigning and lobbying activities.

The Judicial Council is set to make its recommendations regarding pay outs for minor injuries when it meets on 20 February.

Unfortunately, there are rumours that the judges are not going to recommend an 80% reduction which is necessary to bring Ireland in line with most EU countries.

If you are speaking to local politicians please make sure they hear your frustration with the long delay in tackling the cost of shop insurance – tell them that if the judges don’t recommend an 80% reduction you fear that your insurance costs will continue to rise.

RGDATA and the Alliance for Insurance Reform is continuing to campaign to get meaningful reform that will bring down the cost of insurance.