Irish business fights back with Doorstep Market

Irish businesses are fighting back in the face of their biggest challenge yet – the Covid 19 lockdown. More than 200 small, independent Irish companies have already registered for The Doorstep Market, a one-stop shop which will enable people to shop local and buy Irish while staying at home.

One of the people behind the move is Grace Tallon, who tells us all about it here – and her own personal finances.

How did you get The Doorstep Market together in the lockdown?

Despite the current restrictions making it impossible to meet in person, myself and Joe have been working closely together to develop the project over the past week, mostly using video conferencing technologies.

How does it work?

In addition to making it easy for people to support local and buy Irish, the website also offers a free e-commerce platform so Irish businesses can get online and start trading quickly and easily. Businesses can also use the site to collaborate on offers and deliveries.  Consumers can browse a wide variety of Irish products on a single site, while buying from multiple different suppliers in a single transaction.

We all want to support Irish business, but are goods made here or sold here expensive? I think we are beginning to realise what is important in society. Buying less “stuff” and supporting businesses you have a relationship with is something that is becoming more important to people.

Are Irish people actually supporting local businesses? Yes. Our sense of where we live is important. Local shops, pubs and businesses are the landmarks that define our localities. It’s your local business who will support the football club or charity night and help you when you’re in a bind – people recognise that.

What businesses will do well in post Covid world?

There are a lot of businesses who responded quickly and were in a position to adapt - there are lots that weren’t. I think it’s not so much about what businesses will do well as it is about everyone working together to make sure no one is left behind and unable to survive when this is over.

When Or if will we recover from this crisis economically? I hope this pandemic brings about positive change. This is an opportunity to rethink, as a society, a lot of what we do.

Have we taken the right measures?

 We found ourselves in a crisis situation the likes of which we have never seen before. I believe the Government has acted in the best possible way they could given the circumstances. However, I feel the Arts community who feel this crisis particular acutely have been grossly let down. I hope the recent measures introduced are tweaked to become more inclusive.

Is Ireland a good place to do business? I think we have a hugely innovative business community in Ireland, but we are let down and held back by our infrastructure problems. Housing and transport in particular are enormous issues. The similarity of the positions taken by ICTU and IBEC in recent times on this demonstrates the gravity of these challenges for business and society.

What did your parents teach you about money? While it’s important to have enough, other things that are far more important.

Do you invest in a pension? Yes. I think it is something that if possible we should all try to put in place.

Same question for shares? Yes. I try to move them around as much as I can. It’s not something I have too much time to focus on.

What would you do if Finance Minister?

I think our economy is overly reliant on multinationals. The sustainability of our tax receipts was already tenuous given some of the developments at an EU level and the potential for greater tax harmonisation, and the impact of COVID-19 has exposed this further. We need to provide greater supports and investment for indigenous business, and future-proof our economy through a realignment towards a greater proportion of our growth being driven by home grown business.