Retailers need a 50pc rent amnesty to cope with the costs of Covid, industry representatives will tell TDs and senators today. 

A delegation from industry group Retail Excellence is due to appear before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment today.

With the sector having endured the longest lockdown in Europe, the body will seek support for a 50pc rent amnesty for first four months of 2021, insisting that certain landlords such as major financial institutions or pension funds would be able to absorb these losses without overly adverse effects.

Earlier this week the Family Business Network argued that landlords who provide rent relief to firms hit by Covid should get a tax relief to absorb the money foregone. 

Retail Excellence said non-essential retailers are on a “financial cliff-edge” following over a year of enforced closures as a result of Covid-19.

Hundreds of businesses will now struggle to pay fixed costs, such as rent, as they begin to trade again, the lobby group said.

TDs will also be asked for further support to enable them to to pivot to online sales.

Retail Excellence Managing Director Duncan Graham said the industry has been badly hit since the onset of Covid-19 with many firms unable to pay rent.

"Already we are seeing vacancy rates of up to 30pc on what have traditionally been our busiest high streets, and we know that there were 2,000 more commercial vacancies at the end of 2020 as there were at the same time the year before. The businesses that are still trading face a monumental – and in many cases, impossible – challenge now in terms of meeting their rent obligations.”

He said a rent amnesty would be invaluable for retailers and would help landlords in the long run.

He said that he hoped the restrictions on the hospitality industry would be lifted soon, particularly for coffee shops and cafes which enjoy a strong relationship with the retail industry.

“Our towns and cities are places where people should want to live and shop as well as work, and if anything, this pandemic has shown that we must invest in these places in order to survive and thrive. We have a huge job ahead of us rejuvenating our towns and city centres,” Mr Graham said.