It will take months for many businesses in Kildare to recover from the lockdown restrictions imposed this month, according to the local chamber of commerce.

The restrictions were lifted with immediate effect this evening after the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) said the virus figures in the county were now broadly in line with the rest of the country.

On The Hard Shoulder this evening Allan Shine, CEO of the Kildare Chamber of Commerce said the news was “very welcome” for everyone in the county.

“Businesses can now look forward to reopening and getting back to some semblance of normality, whatever that may take,” he said.

“It’ll take a couple of months for a lot of businesses to get back on their feet. By the time they start reemploying and reskilling the workforce, it is going to be a tough couple of months ahead.

“That, coupled with the fact the wage subsidy scheme changes tomorrow – there is a 42% reduction in the subsidy supports from Government for businesses that are eligible for that – so that’s not good news but we are very happy here in Kildare, we can get back to some sort of normality.”

He said the supports provided to businesses affected by the lockdown were not enough to keep them going – and warned that the cuts to the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme due to come into force tomorrow, will present huge difficulties for companies.

“What we need now is more cash supports for businesses,” he said.

“For businesses to get back open now, it is not just a case of opening the doors and welcoming in their customers – it is not that simple.

“They will have to start re-employing and purchasing the stock they need, obviously with the fear factor that there will be another announcement down the road.”

File photo of a house in Newbridge, County Kildare, 07-08-2020. Image: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews

He said county-wide lockdowns are not an effective way to live with the virus and urged the Government to publish a long-term coronavirus-response plan to offer certainty to the public.

“The Taoiseach did announce two weeks ago that he would be launching a six to nine-month living plan with COVID and we would call on him to look at that urgently,” he said.

“Hopefully that plan will be announced very quickly because there is no appetite to go back into the restrictions we had – absolutely no appetite.”

You can listen back to the full interview here: