On the day, we learned our two local shopping centres will reopen from tomorrow, our President, Emma Mullen-Marmion paid tribute to the resilience of the local business community.
Welcoming the opening of the entire retail sector from tomorrow, our President said:
“Today is the first important step on the road to reopening our local economy. It has been a challenging time for local businesses, but we now can slowly begin rebuilding confidence in our local economy.”
“The NI Executive’s decision to open all retail from tomorrow and to reopen the housing market is a welcome boost for businesses in the area. We look forward to further relaxation of the restrictions when it is safe to do so, particularly for the hospitality sector.”
“We would not be where we are today without the efforts of those who have worked through the COVID-19 emergency.”
“On behalf of the business community, I would like to thank those working in our hospitals, care homes and our essential services, the many volunteers and community workers looking after those in need and of course, those working hard to produce food for our tables and the shops that remained open to ensure we didn’t go short on essentials.”
“The road to recovery will be challenging. The financial support measures from the UK Government and the NI Executive have helped businesses to survive and keep people in employment. Equally our businesses have been innovative in how they responded to the challenge of COVID-19.”
“As a business community, what we need now is a stimulus package from the NI Executive which will include investment in our Infrastructure, the improvement of our digital network, support for innovation and R&D, a skills agenda which maximises the talent of our young people and support for our businesses to access new markets.”