Newstalk has carried out a poll in assocation with Red C looking into various aspects of the eoncomy.
One result that we want to focus on is the fact that 79% of people believe that the economic recovery is two-tiered.
To find out what this looks like on the ground, I went to Arklow in Co Wicklow to find out what the recovery looks like there.
I went to Arklow back in 2013 and it was a period when the town was suffering a severe economic slump.
In the mean time, we’ve had sustained economic growth nationally and we’ve had falling unemployment.
I wanted to find out if things have improved or is Arklow one of these regional town that’s apparently being left behind.
When I was there last, my first port of call was Kavanagh’s Newsagents on the Wexford Road. Colm is the owner and he told me yesterday that he has been working in the shop every day since 1984. Anyone who drives or has driven through Arklow will know where it is because of the massive Everton crest bolted on the gable end of the building for everybody to see.
So when I caught up with him yesterday, I asked him if things have gotten any better.
One of the reasons that we focused attention on Arklow previously was because it had a much higher than average number of vacant commercial units, people will remember us talking a lot at the time about ‘the death of the high street’.
So taking the vacancy rate as a barometer of the local economy, how do things looks now?
Well in 2013 when I was there, a little over 17% of units were vacant. According to the most recent figures we have, that figure has in fact fallen. It’s now 14%.
There are a couple of things you have to be mindful of. First of all the national average has significantly fallen too so the vacancy rate in Arklow in still very high, relatively speaking. And even within Wicklow, if you look at somewhere like Greystones, which in economic terms is South Dublin, the vacancy rate is half what it is in Arklow. So gives this credence to the notion of a two-tier economy.
Also, that vacancy rate includes the whole town. If we look at just the high street, it’s worse. I walked from Kavanagh’s to the bridge, right down main street and there are approx 132 units on that stretch of road. 46 of them are empty, over a third. The main street is completely blighted by vacant units.
Along that route is Mobile Care, a mobile phone shop. Paul Fennell is the owner and he is blaming both the TDs from Wicklow and the local authority.
Actually both views were repeated to me by more than one person yesterday. The TDs because they traditionally have come from the North of the County. It’s where the bigger population bases are and Arklow only has 15,000 people. The sea on one side, Wexford on another and then not far to mountains behind so they’ve struggled to elect a local TD.
In terms of the local authority, the issue is rates. That was the big issue here in 2013 and it still seems to be with many. I should say, Arklow isn’t unique in that regard. I’ve heard business owners all over the country, in towns similar in size to Arklow, blaming the rates system for empty premises. They say that it’s too rigid and too punitive to a new business and this essentially stops people taking a chance. Their first task as a business owner is handing over a cheque for rates.
That’s certainly being blamed for the vacancy rate and of course that vacancy rate means commercial property holds very little value in the town.
However, this is not the case with residential property. If it’s the situation, as we’re hearing, that the recovery is to some extent avoiding the area, you wouldn’t know from the residential property prices. We spoke to local estate agent Raymond Gaffney about the issue.
You can listen to the full report here:
