When I graduated (eventually ) from third level college many of my classmates and friends were making plans for their big trip to Oz. The idea was that they’d take a well-earned year out, explore the southern hemisphere, return to Ireland and settle down to a good job.
After dedicating most of their lives to education they thought that surely their dedication would be rewarded with a well paid job in their chosen career, one that would allow them to purchase a home, let them have a decent car, nice holidays, and some luxuries. It’s the least that could happen after all those years of college life living on noodles!
Some were lucky enough to come home to jobs, but as they were the last ones in, a lot of recently qualified workers have been the first ones to go as their employers make cutbacks.
Of course it’s not just people in their mid and late 20s who are making up the dole queues, it’s people from all walks of life. There are still some jobs in the country, well just about. And before our rural communities become ghost towns, we need to do something.
Every year or so, you see the appeals for people to shop local. They are normally fuelled by business organisations acting in tandem with their clients. And because they have become so commonplace, the plea to shop local often falls on deaf ears and is seen as just another needless plea from an avaricious business community.
However, this time the appeal is different, because the decisions we take in the coming days, months, year will determine whether many of these businesses will survive. In all of our communities, whether in Athlone, Mullingar, or the smaller towns and villages across the county, the businesses that have popped up have made all of those places better places to be. There is something satisfying about the greater choice we have been given. There are nice shops, restaurants, cafes, and businesses in all of our communities. We all like living where we do because of this great mix and we cannot now allow the work of generations to crumble.
How many years has it taken to create the communities we all live in? Think back to the seventies and eighties, when all there was was the corner shop. And the choice was ‘take it or leave it’.
If these businesses go to the wall now, then our entire communities start to unravel and it could be another generation or two before they get back to where they were.
We all hear the anecdotal evidence of how much you can save across the border, but travelling to Newry every week to stock up at Iceland is not sustainable, and with the differential between sterling and the euro set to decrease, that option will become less and less viable.
Of course, the success of shop local campaigns does not rest solely on the shoulders of consumers. It is incumbent on the businesses to look at themselves too, and to ensure that customer service is better than it is at present, that staff are trained in the basics of good manners and don’t grunt an answer at you; that waiting staff don’t try their best to avoid eye contact; and that shop layouts are inviting and look less like storerooms than places to browse and buy.
This recession is taking us back to basics, but let us try to hold on to as much of what we hav,e so that recovery will be that much easier when it comes a year or two from now. This week and every week, help the process by supporting those businesses that form the heart of your community.
