Council reaffirms commitment to local businesses following announcement of Government’s July Stimulus package

Fingal County Council has played a central role in supporting the business sector during the Covid-19 period and has already implemented a range of schemes and initiatives to assist small and medium enterprises across Fingal.

Key highlights to date include:

• Over €6m paid to more than 1,200 businesses under the ReStart Grant Scheme, which assists businesses cover the costs associated with reopening following the Covid-19 period, since May.

• Over 125 businesses have signed up to the Fingal In It Together Charter which seeks to unite businesses across the county in supporting each other by committing to five key principles – Safe Access, Shop Local, Collaborate, Social Media Support and Understanding. Full details can be found at https://www.fingal.ie/fingal-it-together-charter

• Marketing and promotional campaign launched to assist and support the tourism and hospitality sectors to promote all that Fingal has to offer as a fantastic destination for a daytrip or a weekend getawa

• A special 90-second video to promote the message that Fingal is now open for business as part of the #restartfingal campaign. It can be viewed at https://bit.ly/3hmyn0S.

Under the Government’s July Stimulus Package, the business sector can now expect to benefit further from measures announced including:

Mayor of Fingal Cllr David Healy said: “I welcome the Government’s Stimulus package which sets out a range of supports and schemes to assist the business community get back on their feet and get people back to work. Fingal County Council is committed to supporting and engaging with the business community as part of our #restartfingal campaign, and these new measures will play a pivotal role in continuing that work.

“One important part of the Stimulus package with particular relevance for our work as a Council is the additional funding for pedestrian and cycling infrastructure. As well as being an effective economic stimulus, it is important in ensuring we have a good quality of life and reduce our impact on the climate as we continue to protect ourselves and each other against Covid-19. Fingal intends to access this funding to increase our provision for walking and cycling." 

Chairperson of the Economic, Enterprise and Tourism Development Strategic Policy Committee Cllr Tony Murphy said: “These new Government measures underpin the work that Fingal County Council has been doing over the past number of months to kick-start the local economy and support local businesses. The Council has been playing a key role in supporting the different business sectors and I look forward to this work continuing.”

Chief Executive AnnMarie Farrelly said: “Fingal County Council has been using its unique position to support businesses during this unprecedented Covid-19 period. The latest range of measures included in the July Stimulus package will assist and support businesses and local economy as they reopen. I look forward to working with our 6,000 rate payers and other stakeholders in the weeks and months ahead to ensure that we provide a platform for them to recover and thrive economically.”

Director of Economic, Enterprise and Tourism Development Emer O’Gorman said: “I am particularly pleased to see the expansion of the ReStart Grant Scheme to include some businesses that fell outside the original scheme. The Scheme has been a great success to date with over €6m issued to over 1,000 businesses in the Fingal region, and we look forward to helping more applicants in the weeks and months ahead.

“We are engaging with all businesses sectors across Fingal on a daily basis to help protect jobs and get people back to work following the Covid-19 period.”

To find out more about the initiatives underway in Fingal, visit fingal.ie/business.