Ballinrobe man speaks out in Leinster House

Ballinrobe man speaks out in Leinster House


Ciara Galvin
ciaragalvin@mayonews.ie

THE challenges facing small traders were last week highlighted by a second-generation Ballinrobe businessman at Leinster House. Addressing the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mr Rob Murphy, spokesman for Ballinrobe’s Business Enterprise Organisation (BEO), said that ‘parking charges were becoming a barrier for basic trade’ in the south Mayo town.
Speaking to The Mayo News afterwards, Mr Murphy said: “I was delighted to get the opportunity to speak before the Oireachtas Committee and provide them with some insight into our situation in Ballinrobe in terms of trading and business development.”
Murphy, who works in the family-run Murphy’s Centra, Ballinrobe, said the delegation was not there to ‘moan and complain or look for a handout.’
“All we are asking is to level the playing field so we can compete. Parking charges are a nuisance to people who just need to pick up dry cleaning or collect meat from the butcher on their way home from work,” he said.
Mr Murphy, a regular sports contributor to The Mayo News, was part of a delegation from RGDATA, the representative association for independent family grocers.  They highlighted how the parking regulation system in Ballinrobe was a prime example of the need for the establishment of a national policy for parking charges in towns around Ireland. RGDATA has recently published a document, ‘Nightmare on Main Street’ which shows the decline in trading in many traditional market towns because of parking regulations.
“For me, it was a great opportunity to emphasise to our public representatives that we are not looking for special treatment to subsidise the local shop. We expect the free market society will decide the future of small shops and town centres but we are appealing for a level playing field to allow us to compete with out-of-town multi nationals that are in direct competition with town centres,” Rob Murphy continued.
He welcomed the fact that the OIreachtas Committee, which includes Mayo TD Dara Calleary, will visit the town in the coming weeks.
RGDATA Director General, Tara Buckley told the committee ‘high rates, fines and the threat of clamping are driving people out of town centres.’
“Cash-strapped local authorities are destroying the vitality of town centres in Ireland with extreme parking policies,” said Ms Buckley.
New guidelines are being sought by RGDATA in an attempts to end inconsistencies of parking policies by local authorities. Initiatives advised include more graded parking fees and fines, more flexible payment mechanisms and innovative pricing structures, free parking days and set grace periods.

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