Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In case there is any doubt here, we are very committed to the online presence as well as the town centre presence. That is why in the programme for Government the town centre first principle exists across Departments, led by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, with our Department and the Department of Rural and Community Development. We will bring forward a framework this month focusing on town centre opportunities. I have engaged with the retail community, formally through the forum, but we also engage on a weekly basis with the various stakeholders. Everybody is committed to the opportunities, which are twofold: they are online. We must understand that approximately 70% of business from Irish purchasers online is going abroad. We want to win that back for local Irish companies and that is why we are involved with other campaigns to look locally.

We are aware the opportunity exists so we have to pursue it. Complementary to that is extending and increasing our offering and, exactly as the Deputy says, developing the experience in town centres. There is a lot of opportunity. We know that in the next 15 or 20 years, there will be an extra 1 million people living in this country. Therefore, there are many additional customers to be won. There has to be a twin-pronged approach, and that is what we will have.

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