Mr. Stephen Lynam:

I thank the committee for the invitation. I offer apologies on behalf of Ms Kavanagh from Arnotts, as she got called away at the last minute.

Retail Ireland is the representative body for the entire retail sector. It numbers 3,000 shops, including department stores, DIY shops, electrical retailers, fashion and footwear retailers, supermarket groups, symbol groups and specialist retailers. We are a division of IBEC. Through that connection, we have close links with the Small Firms Association, which represents a number of small and independent retailers. Some of our members operate in out-of-town stores and town and city centres. Many operate in both.

These meetings are timely, as the recently established retail consultation forum, of which we are supportive, is due to discuss this matter. I hope that progress can be made between these hearings and that forum.

It will not be news to any of the members that retail has been at the sharp end of this recession. Sales are down by a quarter and 50,000 jobs have been lost. The number of vacant units has increased. However, we are a sector with significant potential. Our Strategy for Retail 2014-2016, copies of which I will leave, tells two important stories. First, we are the largest private sector employer in the country bar none, with a footprint in every town and village. Some 75% of retail businesses are located outside Dublin and a similar number are SMEs. Second, we have forecast that, if retail sales can in the first instance stabilise, as seems to be happening, and begin to grow by a modest 3% to 4% from 2016, we have the potential to create 40,000 new jobs by the end of the decade. Town centre rejuvenation is undoubtedly a part of that growth strategy.

The issue of the need to rejuvenate town centres has been at the centre of public debate for some years. The recession and the growing number of vacant outlets in or close to the centre of towns and cities has sharpened minds. A number of opinions have been expressed and industry representatives, politicians, economic operators and others have all made their views known.

Central to our approach is a recognition that out-of-town shopping is a reality in the Irish retail space. It brings with it benefits to retailers and consumers. Town centre rejuvenation does not, as some might suggest, have to come at the expense of the shopping centre or out-of-town retail experience. We believe in a truly national policy. It is vital that everyone concentrate not just on Dublin city centre but also on other major cities, including Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Galway. Further, smaller towns should not be neglected in the effort to breathe new life into the heart of city centres.

Policy formulation in this area falls into four broad themes from which individual policy recommendations may flow: measures focused on making city and town centres better places to visit; measures to make town centres more attractive to consumers; measures to tackle crime and improve safety; and measures to improve business conditions for retailers. If these four areas can be properly addressed in a timely fashion, major strides will be made. Mr. Sealey and Mr. Parker will discuss their experiences as practising retailers in a few minutes, but I will go through some of our policy suggestions.

Regarding measures focused on making city and town centres better places to visit, we have a number of proposals. As recommended in the British report "High Streets at the Heart of our Communities: The Government's response to the Mary Portas Review", the Irish Government should identify pilot towns and cities where new partnerships involving retailers, landlords, local authorities, representative groups and so on could be formed to establish targets and achieve demonstrable improvements in town centre locations. Building on the success of the Dublin business improvement district, BID, other towns and cities should establish, where demand among retailers and other businesses is present, their own BIDs to drive footfall. I advise the committee to hear from the Dublin BID as part of this process. That group can share its experience of Dublin city centre and describe how the BID system can be carried into other cities and towns.

Planning presents an issue. Specific measures should be taken in the planning process to make town and city centres attractive places to shop. By necessity, this may involve a change in the location of certain services, such as drug treatment clinics and homeless facilities. The importance of the provision of these services is not in doubt. Instead of being centrally located, however, they should be located closer to where those who are in receipt of them live. This will ensure a greater geographical spread of such services and allow for towns and cities to once again become vibrant centres of commerce.

When making town centres more attractive to consumers, there are a number of issues to consider. Public policy to date has focused on the need to encourage the use of public transport when travelling to city and town centres in order to reduce traffic congestion. While this is a worthy aim, it discourages consumers from travelling into city centres to make bulky and often more expensive purchases. It is obvious that a free-for-all parking system is not viable. However, consideration should be given to allowing those travelling into city and town centres for periods of two or three hours to park for free. Such a system could, for example, allow those who wish to park between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to park for free for two hours, thus giving city centre retailers their custom while avoiding any contribution to rush hour traffic congestion.

The Your Dublin, Your Voice survey, which was conducted some years ago by Dublin City Council, found that only 32% of respondents felt that the city was clean and tidy. Such a situation will not entice customers to come into a city or town centre. The Tidy Towns initiative has worked well for smaller towns and villages and has helped to instil local pride and respect for the surroundings in which people live and shop. Consideration should be given to how to instil such pride and respect in larger urban environments.

On measures to tackle crime and improve safety, the Your Dublin, Your Voicesurvey also found that fewer than one in three respondents felt safe in the city centre at night time. This must be improved on. To achieve greater safety at night, An Garda Síochána should prioritise gardaí on the beat during the hours of darkness and local authorities should ensure streets are properly illuminated.
Retail Ireland believes much of the policy consideration to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour in urban environments and the towns in which retailers operate has already been carried out and the policy now needs to be implemented. To this end, we recommend full implementation of the National Crime Council’s A Crime Prevention Strategy: Tackling the Concerns of Local Communities, which advocates, among other things, an integrated crime prevention strategy involving all relevant Departments, the development of community policing structures, a reduction in recidivism through work with ex-prisoners and greater investment in youth work at community level. We also fully supported the establishment of An Garda Síochána’s theft from shops prevention strategyand continue to play a role in its implementation.
Measures to improve business conditions for retailers are crucial. The report High Streets at the Heart of our Communities highlights the importance of local authority rates and their interconnectedness with the viability of retailers’ businesses. Mr. Sealey and Mr. Parker will expand further on this issue. Retail Ireland urges root and branch reform of local authority funding in order that less of the burden for this funding falls on retailers.
The huge difficulty of upward-only rent reviews, UORRs, for retailers is well documented and well known. Notwithstanding the constitutional difficulties encountered some years ago on this issue, action must be taken to address it now. Retail Ireland recently joined a number of other bodies in calling on the Government to allow Senator Feargal Quinn's Bill on this matter which has been passed by the Seanad to pass through the Dáil in order that the President can decide whether to refer it to the Supreme Court. We again take the opportunity to call on the Government to take that brave step. Where rents are high and footfall is low, it is crucial that other costs are also addressed. In Ireland the costs for retailers of labour, water, gas, electricity and professional services are far too high and must be addressed. If addressed, many town centre businesses will be saved and the opportunity for growth will present. Shopping is an integral part of the tourism experience in cities around the world. Retail Ireland believes Fáilte Ireland and other bodies charged with encouraging tourists to visit the country should concentrate more on this aspect of the tourist offering.
Deputies and Senators will be aware that there is a particular issue with vacant retail units throughout Ireland. Research from the CBRE shows that while retail activity has picked up a little in the past few months, vacancy rates in key towns and cities remain high. In quarter one in 2014 Athlone had a vacancy rate on its high street of 21.6%, an increase on 18.2% on the figure for quarter three last year. The vacancy rate on Patrick Street in Cork is up from 13% to 14.3%. Sligo's high street vacancy rate stands at 12.5%, unchanged from last year. The rate in Limerick also remains unchanged at 16.3%. On Henry Street in Dublin there is a vacancy rate of 12.8%, up from 4.3%. There are improvements in parts of the country, with high profile areas such as Grafton Street showing reduced vacancies and Cork's Opera Lane development fully let. However, the overall picture highlights the continued problems of the sector. A key problem is the high level of local authority charges such as commercial rates. It is vital to remember that a recovery in the retail sector will reduce vacancy rates, increase the rates base and ultimately provide extra funding for local authority services. A key way to make that happen is to reduce rates for retailers and offer rates holidays for retailers that take on a vacant unit. In that way we can breathe new life into towns and cities.
We need action on many fronts. We need to make town centres attractive, clean and safe places in which to do business and shop. We need to encourage retailers to take up vacant units. We need an appropriate retail tourism strategy and to address anti-social behaviour. With a joined-up approach, we can start a new chapter for towns and cities. The committee will now hear from retailers.