Killarney Chamber reports 'dramatic reduction in footfall' with much accommodation snapped up for refugees

Chamber says tourist town has been hit by a 'perfect storm'

Killarney Chamber is campaigning to return to the 9 per cent VAT rate and wants training and other supports for business.

There can be ‘no argument’ about the impact of the considerable numbers of refugees and asylum seekers on business in Killarney, the Killarney Chamber of Commerce and Tourism has said in a statement which has been issued amid alarm about business closures in the tourist town.

Along with the VAT increase to 13.5 per cent, the downturn in footfall and tourist spend because of the government contracts was the ‘last straw’, it said..

Several street front businesses have closed or are closing in Killarney alone, along with others across Killorglin, Kenmare and other towns on the Ring of Kerry, a council meeting heard this week.

“The VAT rise, combined with rising energy costs, food inflation, major staffing issues, wage increases and fewer people on the streets has, in many respects, created the perfect storm to force a business to close,” chamber said.

Issues such as leases expiring, business premises being sold, difficulties in securing qualified staff and the dark cloud of warehoused debt having to be paid back in a matter of weeks have all contributed to what it described as 'a spate' of business closures in Killarney.

But‘ ‘there can be no argument that Killarney is also really feeling the impact of the very significant influx of asylum seekers and refugees which has resulted in considerable challenges for those involved in retail in the town,’ it said.

Businesses had reported ‘a dramatic reduction in footfall since so much of the town’s available accommodation was snapped up by the International Protection Accommodation Service,’ it said.

“That factor alone is impacting on business, it is impacting on services such as access to GPs and schools and it is putting traders on the streets under real pressure,” Padraig Treacy and Johnny McGuire, joint chamber presidents said.

The chamber is campaigning to return to the 9 per cent VAT rate and wants training and other supports for business.

Separately, Cllr Johnny Healy Rae, (Ind) has asked a meeting of Kerry County Council to keep a record of exact numbers of small businesses closing and to identify “the main cause’ for the cessations of businesses across south Kerry in just weeks.

One in five jobs in Kerry are tourist related, the council told him and most employees in Kerry are in small enterprises.

‘My fear is there will be a domino effect, and these businesses will not reopen. If it’s happening in Killarney, what hope is there for Killorglin, Kenmare, Cahersiveen and other towns," Mr Heay Rae said.

It was time to ‘clearly state’ the effect of the downturn in footfall was because of the thousands of tourist beds under contract by the Government to host refugees and asylum seekers, he also said.