12th December 2013, Thursday
By TheCork.ie
news@TheCork.ie
Fine Gael Cork Senator, Colm Burke, this evening said that as the Irish economy is showing signs of recovery, we can further boost this recovery by buying Irish and shopping locally during the important Christmas retail period.
“After five years of hardship the Irish economy is now in recovery mode. Government finances have been stabilised and the era of cutbacks and the introduction of new taxes and charges is coming to an end. The signs of recovery are now evident.
“The tourism sector showed strong growth this year; the Gathering has been a tremendous success. After a very difficult start, the year turned out to be a good one for farmers. Construction activity has picked up in recent months and there is a steady stream of new jobs announcements, particularly in the IT sector, every week. We are now at a stage where more than 1,000 new jobs are being created every week. Recent signs of strong growth in Britain and the US will help Irish exports, allowing us to be cautiously optimistic about the medium term future.
“A critical period of the year for retailers is now firmly upon us. As consumers, each of us can contribute to the recovery of the local economy this Christmas by making a conscious decision to buy Irish and shop local business. If every Irish shopper switched 10% of their spending to Irish goods it would support thousands of additional jobs across the economy.
“Christmas is time when significant food, drink, confectionery and cosmetic purchases are made. Cork has a wide range of food and drink companies, both large scale and artisan style producers. This Christmas, Cork people should make a special effort to source Cork-made products across the full range of seasonal purchases. Supporting Cork producers, suppliers and retailers will boost the local economy, strengthen the economic recovery and will generate much needed new jobs.”