The news of continued restrictions in Ireland comes with great disappointment. The Irish Spa Association met with Government in early February and called for a number of measures, in light of the fact we now face extended restrictions our points are more urgent and an immediate review is required to safeguard businesses and the livelihoods they support. Here are some of the points we have raised:
- Review of the CRSS scheme and a widening of the scheme, the current structure leaves many businesses behind.
- Urgent consideration needs to be given to the lowering of rate VAT for beauty services to support additional stimulus and recovery.
- A clear commitment to extend the wage subsidy scheme for the remainder of 2021 is needed
- We continue to explore options to alleviate the challenges around recruitment and call on the government to review the critical skills list and address the labour shortages so we are prepared to re-open and meet the demand for our services and fulfilling the appropriate staffing requirements for senior and experienced therapists. A survey conducted by the Irish Spa Association identified that 80% of Irish salons and spas were struggling to operate and were operating well below their optimum staffing requirements prior to the pandemic.
- We are calling for more consideration around Rapid Antigen testing. This is one of the most reliable tools being rolled out internationally. The Irish Salon and Spa business has a proven track record in operating safely throughout this pandemic and the introduction of rapid antigen testing provides the ability to recognise COVID19 infectiousness among clients and staff and in a 15-minute results format, and will help our economy to return to work in a safe way and primarily helping to restore confidence among the workforce and the public and facilitate a steady return to social normality. The savings for the taxpayer versus the alternative closure of the economy is significant.
We are committed to the growth and sustainability of our sector and we recognise the difficult balance the Government has to achieve however we urge the government to provide more transparency and clear communications as to the strategy being pursued and the view on ‘living with Covid’ versus a ‘zero Covid’ approach.
www.irishspaassociation.ie Irish Spa Association
