Ms Rachel Twomey:

I thank the committee for giving us the opportunity to speak. It is a very challenging time. I am a second-generation independent retailer. My father set up Twomey’s SuperValu Deansgrange in 1988, and 3,000 people from our community had their first job there. The store has always been a grocery store since the terrace was first built in the 1950s. It has a long-standing history within Deansgrange and we serve the local community. We face stiff competition from a range of retailers and know that our customers' business and custom cannot be taken for granted.

I am facing many of the challenges that Ms Buckley and my colleagues outlined in relation to increasing costs. Electricity alone for the first nine months stands at €197,000. That is plus €100,000 for the first nine months. We received a further two bills of €90,000 because I was very prudent and locked in in July with Bord Gáis. We are now paying a premium price for off the variable. That is a substantial addition to the business and very worrying.

I am also facing an additional challenge that is directly threatening my business and is directly caused by actions of our local authority in my area. During Covid-19, the new active travel and traffic management measures were introduced to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, reducing the road area available for cars and increasing cycle lane provision, in part due to social distancing requirements. These changes have not been undone since the end of the Covid-19 lockdown and instead are forming part of the permanent traffic management scheme. We are all for increased safe travel. However, if we want to keep vibrant local communities and retailers, it is imperative that the commercial impact of such schemes is carefully assessed before they are introduced. Local authorities need to factor in the community and economic impact of the changes to traffic capacity and traffic flows before introducing such schemes. The impact of the proposed traffic scheme on my business has seen my trade reduce from €45,000 a week, while still paying rates €70,000 pay per annum.