Limerick Chamber, mayor and council issue rallying cry amid Covid-19 lockdown

THE mayor of Limerick Michael Collins, Limerick City and County Council and the Limerick Chamber have called on people to “shop local and early”.

With Limerick and the rest of the country set to go into lockdown after tomorrow, Mayor Collins says this year of all years, people need to think of shopping locally, particularly if restrictions are lifted ahead of Christmas.

Under the plans announced by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, it’s hoped the level 5 restrictions will be reduced by December 1.

In the meantime, local people are being asked, if they shop online, to do so in local busineses.

“We have an opportunity to do for the Christmas period what was done for the summer by getting behind local businesses and making sure that they finish out this very challenging year with our support and encouragement,” Mayor Collins said.

“As it is now not possible to shop instore with so many businesses over the coming weeks, I would really like to impress on the public to support them online and not immediately think of global online marketplaces as a first option,” said the first citizen.

Chamber chief executibve Dee Ryan added: There’s fantastic choice and quality across Limerick and if we all get behind this initiative, we can give local business the Christmas boost that it deserves. It’s not alone that we support these businesses but, in doing so, we are supporting employment in Limerick. More than ever, this Christmas period is a time to ‘shop Limerick.”

Limerick City and County Council has set up a web portal, which can be found at www.limerick.ie/shop, which lists local tradrs.

The mayor concluded: “Limerick businesses have made incredible efforts this year to support customers with a wide range of initiatives to support public health. The least we can do in return is support them online during what should be the busiest trading time of the year and hopefully moving to these restrictions will make a difference so we all can look forward to a safe Christmas.”