Fingal businesses encouraged to sign up to Fingal in it Together Charter

The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr. David Healy, and the Chair of the Economic Enterprise and Tourism Development Strategic Policy Committee, Cllr Tony Murphy, were joined for the launch by Fingal County Council Chief Executive AnnMarie Farrelly; Fingal County Council Director of Economic Enterprise and Tourism Development, Emer O’Gorman; Bill Kearney, President of Fingal Dublin Chamber; Derek Fowler, President of Malahide Chamber and Richard Berney, President of Balbriggan Chamber and the Chair of Shop Malahide, Áine McCabe.

The purpose of the Fingal In It Together Charter is to unite businesses across the county in supporting each other as part of the #FingalInItTogether initiative which is being driven by the Council, the Chambers of Commerce and Shop Malahide.

Those businesses signing the Charter commit to a series of pledges under the headings of Safe Access, Shop Local, Collaborate, Social Media Support and Understanding.

All Charter members can display the Fingal In This Together logo at the entrance to their business, on their website and social media channels, and on their correspondence. The logo will providence reassurance to consumers that they are shopping local and supporting Fingal businesses..  Businesses interested in signing up to the Charter can sign up online for free at https://bit.ly/31G8SCl. They will receive a PDF copy of the Charter, a digital image of the logo and a #FingalInItTogether membership sticker. Charter members will be listed on the Fingal In This Together Directory which will also be available at https://www.fingal.ie/fingal-it-together-charter.

Mayor of Fingal, Cllr David Healy, said: “I am delighted to be here to sign the Fingal In It Together Charter. We came together as a community during the worst days of the pandemic to look after each other and now we need to come together to rebuild our local economy.

Cllr Tony Murphy, Chair of the Economic Enterprise and Tourism Development Strategic Policy Committee, said:  “Our local businesses need all the support they can get at the moment and I would encourage everybody in Fingal to support those businesses displaying the Fingal In This Together logo as that is going to really help in retaining jobs in our local communities.”

AnnMarie Farrelly, Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, said: “Our local businesses are central to rebuilding Fingal’s economy following the Covid-19 pandemic. But it is not going to be easy as we all must adapt to a new way of life while still having to contend with the virus. We can only achieve this by coming together as a business community in Fingal and rising to the challenges that we are facing now. That is why I am happy to be signing this Charter and I call on all businesses in Fingal to sign up to it.”

Emer O’Gorman, Director of Economic Enterprise and Tourism Development at Fingal County Council, said: “The business community needs to come together to tackle the many problems that the Covid-19 has caused. I am glad to see many from that community are already committed to signing up to this Charter and I urge all other businesses in Fingal to sign up.”

Bill Kearney, President, Fingal Dublin Chamber, said: “We are backing the Fingal In It Together Charter because we believe that by working together businesses in Fingal can recover quickly from the impact of COVID-19. I would urge all businesses to sign up for the scheme as it benefits business owners, their staff and their customers.”

Derek Fowler, President, Malahide Chamber said: “Malahide Chamber backs the Fingal In It Together Charter as a way to work together to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. We ask that everyone respects and supports each other during this period as we look to adapt to new ways of doing business.”

Richard Berney, President, Balbriggan Chamber said: “The Balbriggan Chamber is delighted to back the Fingal In It Together Charter as it is only by working together that we can take on the challenges we are faced with today. We encourage customers to “Shop Local” and support small businesses, to buy gift cards for local businesses to use later on and to support our local community in providing goods and services and generating local employment.”

Áine McCabe, Chair of Shop Malahide, said: “Shop Malahide is delighted to embrace this initiative and support the FingalInItTogether Charter. Local shops and businesses are the heartbeat of our local communities and we need to all work together to keep them alive until they can get back on their feet. That’s why shopping locally is now more important than ever.”

Signing up to the Fingal In It Together Charter is free and businesses who sign the Charter commit to the following:

SAFE ACCESS

• Provide physical access to business premises in line with public health distancing requirements.
• Work with neighbouring businesses to plan and manage queuing outside premises.

SHOP LOCAL

• Support other businesses in the locale.
• Encourage customers to “Shop Local” and support small businesses.
• Encourage customers to buy gift cards for local businesses to use later on.
• Support our local community in providing goods and services and generating local employment.

COLLABORATE

• Look for opportunities to collaborate with other local businesses to mutually support each other.
• Get creative.

SOCIAL MEDIA SUPPORT

• Engage with social media posts of Charter businesses, like, share and comment on posts, review and tag products to help visibility.
• Share the websites and content of Charter businesses to support other businesses.
• Use the hashtag #FingalInItTogether

UNDERSTANDING

• Treat staff and customers alike with understanding and patience while we all adjust to new social distancing requirements.