County Carlow call to Action with launch of County Carlow Business Support & Economic Recovery Action Plan
Industry representatives and public and private stakeholders from County Carlow have come together to develop a series of actions to support the economic recovery effort for County Carlow with the development of the County Carlow Business Support & Economic Recovery Action Plan.
Speaking about the plan, Carlow County Council Chief Executive, Kathleen Holohan said;
“as a County we need to work collaboratively to support our business community in these challenging times and while there are a number of National supports these need to be complemented with local actions which can be delivered in the short term while a longer term economic and business support process can be developed”
The County Carlow Business Support & Economic Recovery Action Plan has been developed by a partnership between Industry and agencies. The support response action plan has been developed to support the business community in County Carlow during the initial months (July-December 2020) of recovery from the economic impact of Covid-19. The Action Plan has 5 key themes which have a solid focus on making a difference to the business community by (1) supporting sustainable employment (2) increasing sales (3) promoting customer experience (4) building for the future by examining opportunity for individuals and enterprises. The actions include promotional campaigns , development and delivery of a range of support programmes for existing entrepreneurs , networking opportunities , supports for the newly unemployed and development of a framework for future opportunities for County Carlow. Each action has a lead stakeholder who will co-ordinate the action.
Speaking about the importance of innovation and the role of IT Carlow in supporting the response to Covid-19 , Declan Doyle , Vice President for Development and Research at Institute of Technology Carlow said
“with Brexit and the economic impact of Covid 19 the requirements for companies to innovate and develop is prevalent and now is the time for County Carlow companies to engage in this activity and we in IT Carlow will play our role in supporting County Carlow companies to plan and also develop a roadmap for further supports as part of the delivery of this plan”.
Promotion of local goods and services to consumers and tourists is a key feature of the plan and County Carlow Chamber incoming President and Director of Carlow Tourism , Colin Duggan from the Woodford Dolmen Hotel said
“now more than ever we need local support for industry and that comes in many forms from supporting the business as an entity to develop and innovate to also promoting the quality product and service offerings collectively to the public” . I welcome this plan and believe the importance of it is both in its development and delivery as a collaborative process”
Collaboration with Industry is a key feature of the plan , and commenting on the collaboration, Mary Walsh, Chief Executive of Carlow County Development Partnership said
“Carlow County Development Partnership believes that real change occurs when people come together to transform their communities through working together and developing innovative ways to respond to challenges which is at the heart of this process we welcome our involvement in this plan and look forward to providing whatever support we can to the business community over the coming months”
Welcoming the plan for the coming months , Cllr Tom O’Neill , Cathaoirleach with Carlow County Council said
“I’d firstly like to thank the members of industry who have taken their time during this period to help us develop a collective plan for County Carlow and the representatives from IDA , South East Regional Skills Forum , Enterprise Ireland , Carlow County Development Partnership , Department of Social Protection , Institute of Technology , Carlow , County Carlow Chamber and Carlow Tourism who have worked with our executive under the leadership of our Chief Executive , Kathleen Holohan and Director of Services Michael Rainey to ensure we have a plan for the County to support industry”. The Cathaoirleach continued to say, “it’s so important that we work together as a County and I am delighted to see each organisation play a unique role in supporting challenges and opportunities for industry in the short term”.
Action Plan.pdf (size 356.9 KB)
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For further information contact Kieran Comerford on 086-8252037 E-mail: kcomerford@carlwococo.ie
