Small Business Column: Limerick Chamber of Commerce economist Orlaith Borthwick

In this Small Business Show special, Limerick Chamber of Commerce economist Orlaith Borthwick looks at our main shopping streets and says elasticity is the key to getting consumers shopping again.

Towns and cities across the country continue to feel the brunt of the economic decline that has cast a shadow over Ireland in the last number of years. The reality has left many small indigenous independent shop owners with little alternative than to close their doors and literally shut up shop.

The drastic decline in retail has had a negative impact on the towns and cities across our country. While there is merit in a focus on measures to reinvigorate the ailing main streets, from free parking initiatives to the creation of ‘town teams’, addressing the heart of the problem requires a far more radical policy shift by central government. Because to date, government policy has in fact aided the demise of the main street.