Best Dressed Family prize to take place at Light Up Your Christmas Event

by Susana Costello | Nov 14, 2022 | Article, Chamber News

We hope you are all looking forward to the Christmas Lights and Santa Parade on November 19th in Wicklow Town.

Wicklow Town & District Chamber is always so proud to bring this event to our gorgeous town and after so many delays and restrictions in the last few years we can honestly say that the anticipation and excitement for this year is palpable.

In addition to the lights ceremony and a visit from the big man himself Wicklow Chamber, in partnership with the Wicklow Christmas Market, is also delighted to announce our special Best Dressed Family prize.

Simply rock up to the lights in your best Christmas jumpers to be in with a chance of winning a family ticket (2 adults + 2 children) to the Santa Express in the Wicklow Christmas Market.

The runners up will receive a family pass (2 adults + 2 children) for the Eco Ice Skating at the Wicklow Christmas Market.

To enter the competition please approach the stage in Fitzwilliam Square between 4 – 4.30pm and we will take a quick photo and your name. The judges will then announce the winners after Santa Claus himself helps us turn on our lights.

More information about the Santa Express and Eco Ice Skating can be found at www.wicklowchristmasmarket.com

The market will open on November 19th and run on selected days through December 18th. Please see website for exact dates.

We can barely contain our excitement just typing this. Let’s LIGHT UP OUR CHRISTMAS here in Wicklow Town.

Light Up Your Christmas in Wicklow Town

by Susana Costello | Nov 8, 2022 | Article, Chamber News

Light Up Your Christmas in Wicklow Town

On Saturday, 19th November at 4.30pm, everyone is invited to take a stroll down Wicklow Town’s main street for the return of the annual Santa Parade and turning on of the Christmas lights.

With a special appearance from Santa Claus and performances from The Bandit it promises to be a treat filled family event.

Santa Parade Start / Finish: Market Square / Fitzwilliam Square

Christmas Lights / Live Music: Fitzwilliam Square

To ensure crowd safety, road closures (Main Street) will take effect from 3pm until 6pm please leave sufficient time to park and walk to the Santa Parade.

Children must be accompanied by a parent / guardian at all times.

To kick off the Festive season, Wicklow Chamber would like to launch a competition for families.

If you would like to enter this competition, all you have to do is come to the Turning on of the Christmas Lights on Saturday 19th November wearing your best Christmas Jumper.

The family wearing the best festive jumpers will win 4 Santa Express tickets (2 adults 2 kids family ticket) and the runner up will win 4 Eco ice rink tickets (2 adult 2 children family ticket), courtesy of Wicklow Christmas Market.

Santa Parade / Christmas Lights 2022 is brought to you by Wicklow Town & District Chamber of Commerce and Wicklow Municipal District.

November 19th also sees the return of the popular Wicklow Christmas Market, bigger and better than last year with plenty of fun to be had for the entire family.

Starting from the weekend of the 19th of November through until the 18th of December. Returning attractions for 2022 include the incredibly popular Eco Ice Rink which will be 60% bigger than 2021. The Market is FREE to the public, with over 50 twinkling chalets offering food, activities and entertainment for the whole family.

That’s not all… Wicklow Christmas Market will have a magical funfair, live music and entertainment every weekend to enjoy this festive season, this is an event to be enjoyed by all the family.

For more information on the Wicklow Christmas Market please email them directly on info@wicklowchristmasmarket.com

For ticket information or bookings please visit www.wicklowchristmasmarket.com

AND THATS NOT ALL…..

Wicklow Town & District Chamber is also delighted to announce the return of the Customer Appreciation weekend which will run from November 17th to the 20th. Participating retailers will have a poster on their premises alerting customers to their involvement with loads of offers and discounts ready to get you into the Christmas Spirits.

IBEC downgrades growth forecasts for 2023

by Susana Costello | Nov 3, 2022 | Article, Chamber News

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Business group Ibec has downgraded its forecast for domestic demand due to rising costs and a weaker outlook for the global economy.

In its latest Quarterly Economic Outlook, Ibec said domestic demand will grow by 3% in 2023, a downgrade from close to 4% in its previous set of forecasts in July 2022.

The report states that the international economy is in a place of significant challenge due to high rates of inflation, rising interest rates, accelerated monetary tightening and volatile energy markets.

For 2023, Ibec is forecasting that GDP will grow at a rate of 2%.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Ibec Head of National Policy & Chief Economist Gerard Brady said a more aggressive approach by central banks was part of the reason for its downgrade.

“What we’ve seen that has changed is central banks reaction to those rising costs and inflation across the global economy,” he said.

“We now see quicker paces of interest rate hikes, quicker paces of monetary tightening across the global economy, and because of that a lot of our major trading partners – because of this reset to normal interest rates in particular – are predicted to be in recession in 2023.

“For a small, open economy like Ireland that’s obviously going to spill over into our own growth rates – even though we still expect growth next year in the Irish economy.”

Ibec’s report says that while Ireland will avoid a recession, households and businesses will feel the slowdown in many of our major trading partners.

“For some it will [feel like a recession],” Mr Brady said. “We see across the business community lots of our members suffering from really significant costs – particularly on energy, but more broadly”.

“And that will cause challenges for a lot of companies,” he added.
According to the outlook, further monetary tightening by central banks carries risks for both financial stability and the broader global economy throughout next year.

“The big question into 2023 is how successful central banks are at reducing inflation over the next 12-18 months,” Mr Brady said. “If they’re successful, this is a reset, a transition that will go on for a year or 18 months and pass.

“If they’re not then we could see a longer period of challenge for lots of households and businesses across the economy.”

However, Ibec said that Ireland has the tools available to weather the storm, with Government and consumer finances in relatively good condition.

“The Government still have a budget surplus and have put away a lot of saving in terms of money over the last year and into next year, which will help,” he said. “If needs be the Government do have the firepower, unlike a lot of other countries.”

Mr Brady said that the support measures in Budget 2023 were putting money in the right direction, and it would become clear over the winter if they were enough to help firms struggling with higher costs.

Ibec said that measures such as the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme should be timely and adequate in order to protect the business economy throughout the winter.

“We also see households with record savings rates, so some households do have buffers which will help them through the next year or so,” he said.

While the open nature of Ireland’s economy also made it more exposed to global shifts, Mr Brady also said it would help accelerate any pick-up in growth in the future.

“We, unlike the rest of Europe, aren’t purely tied to the European economy, which is probably the worst performer of the major economies next year,” he said. “We also have a tie-in to the US which is predicted to do a lot better [next year].”

Article Credit: www.rte.ie