Data Crucial to Obtaining Supports for Business – Chambers Ireland Launches Latest COVID-19 Business Impact Survey

Chambers Ireland is today (27 May) launching our latest Covid-19 business impact survey.

The target of this survey are the business owners and operators around the country, both those whose businesses have been affected by the Covid-19 crisis, and those whose businesses have not.

With Phase 1 of the reopening of our economy underway, we are seeking to understand the struggles that businesses are experiencing, including those that are reopening, those that have remained closed, and those that have managed to continue through the restrictions.

The survey will close at noon on Monday, 1 June and seeks feedback on revenue, employment issues, and the Government’s policy agenda.

Speaking earlier today Chambers Ireland’s Chief Executive, Ian Talbot, said,

“This series of surveys have been incredibly useful in shaping our engagement with government on a variety of policy issues.

Hard data significantly strengthens our hand when we are advocating on behalf of the business community; we have been able to highlight the divergences between different sectors of the economy and also different regions of the country.

We are hugely grateful to the member companies of the Chamber network for the time that they have spent participating in these surveys, and hope that our successes in obtaining and advocating for supports such as the business restart grants, the commercial rates holiday, and the Wage Subsidy Scheme, go some way towards assisting business continuity in these difficult economic times.

These schemes are not perfect, and we are continuing to work with members of all political parties to ensure that there is a clear understanding of the circumstances that businesses face throughout the cities and regions of Ireland.

While hopefully the worst parts of this pandemic are behind us, the most challenging time for the business community lies ahead of us, as we try to navigate the challenges of the low-touch economy.

We urge every business owner or operator to engage with our survey, it will be the best ten-minute investment of your day.”