Buying in local shops helps drive local economy council

To help preserve local jobs, and help keep local firms stay in business, people buying for Christmas should attempt to shop locally, members of the Mullingar Municipal District have said, at their final meeting before the holiday season.
Cllr Peter Burke had a motion on the agenda on Monday, calling on the members of the Mullingar Municipal District, with the Chamber of Commerce, to “actively encourage” people to shop local this Christmas.
Support came from across the board, with Cllr Una D’Arcy saying it was important that the council sent a strong message out, especially given that many shops do 30 per cent of their annual business in the eight weeks running up to Christmas.
Cllr D’Arcy also reminded colleagues that the businesses support local clubs and organisations over the year with prizes for raffles and sponsorship.
Cllr Paddy Hill also agreed with the call, saying that people in Westmeath should invest their money back into Westmeath.
Mullingar mayor, Cllr Ken Glynn, also pointed out that rural Ireland needed to look after rural Ireland, rather than travelling to Dublin to spend in the capital.
Council director of services, Dave Hogan said that the council is encouraging this through its free-parking days in the run-up to Christmas, and through its support for the purple flag initiative. He encouraged businesses to introduce “innovative marketing practices” to help draw shoppers in.