Dublin shops say business down 60% as bus strike bites

Dublin retailers have seen sales plummet by as much as 60 per cent as the impact of the first Saturday of the Dublin Bus strike hits them hard.

Retail Excellence Ireland (REI) has called for an immediate solution to be found to resolve the dispute as some of its members said considered closing their shops early on Saturday afternoon because footfall was down so significantly.

"Our offices have been inundated with phone calls from Dublin based retailers this morning and yesterday expressing significant concern as to the impact of the strike on footfall and retail sales activity," said David Fitzsimons, chief executive of the umbrella group.

He said retailers were recording sales declines of between 25 per cent and 60 per cent.”The situation is grave with one retail store considering closing for good. An immediate solution needs to be found,” he said.

He called on the Minister for Transport Shane Ross to take a lead in resolving the matter.

“Dublin retailers have had a lot to contend with in recent months including the Luas Cross City construction works and the lack of visitor coach parking facilities in the city. When you are talking to large national retail chains who are considering closing their Dublin stores early, you know that the situation is bleak, Mr Fitzsimons said.

“The matter is creating some embarrassment with one international retailer stating that this situation would never be experienced in any other market they trade in and the matter has led them to rethink their investment strategy for Ireland.”

His concerns were echoed by Thomas Burke who heads Ibec's retailing arm Retail Ireland. He accused unions at Dublin Bus of deliberately targeting retailers by holding work stoppages on the busiest trading days in the week.

“It was very quiet on Saturday morning and it is just so frustrating,” he said. “We are seeing huge losses across the sector and I think the timing of the strike days is really regressive. We are very disappointed with how the unions have picked their days.”

He said the strike was “hitting hardest the people who have no part at all in this dispute. Retailers have had a number of very difficult years and now, when many are just getting back on their feet, they have to deal with disputes like this on and the Luas strikes earlier this year.”

Individual retailers have also expressed concern about the strike but are taking steps to encourage shoppers to come through the doors. Arnotts, for example, was offering three hours of parking for the price of two on Saturday.

“The bus strike has inconvienced out customers and has had a negative impact on business,” said the store’s managing director Donald McDonald.

Dublin Bus said it expected all services including Airlink and sightseeing tours would operate as normal Sunday morning when the latest 24 hour stoppage comes to an end.

Further bus stoppages are scheduled for October. Services will come to a halt on Saturday 1st, Wednesday 5th, Friday 7th, Monday 10th, Wednesday 12th, Friday 14th, Tuesday 18th, Wednesday 19th, Monday 24th, Wednesday 26th and Saturday 29th.