Today should have seen the re-opening of pubs in Ireland but Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced last Wednesday that Phase 4 of the lockdown easing would be delayed until August the 10th.

This is on foot of the increase in the number of cases of coronavirus infections in recent weeks and the fear of a second wave of a Covid-19 outbreak.

The majority of new Covid-19 cases has been with the younger population, i.e. those under 45 years of age. Some scientists say that the reason why the second wave is not accelerating as quick as the first outbreak, back in March, is because people have been wearing masks, washing their hands and keeping their social distance. However, it is only a matter of time, the scientists say, when the younger people will infect the older generation, which could see an escalation of infections, hence the delay in Phase 4.

The last thing we need is a second lockdown, which we have witnessed on the news in other countries. Just when our industry is recovering from the last lockdown, a second shut down of businesses would be the death knell for some dealers.

This leads me nicely to the recent CLIMMAR survey carried out last May to European dealers. Six hundred and sixty dealerships from fourteen different countries responded to the survey, which gives a good indication of the effects and impact of the Covid-19 crisis on their businesses. 80% of the dealers participating in the survey said that they were affected in one way or another from the Covid-19 crisis. The purpose of the survey was to get a quick assessment of the Covid-19 situation amongst the European dealers.

The results are very interesting and vary from country to country. It has 34 pages, mainly of charts and graphs showing results for each question asked but it is well worth looking at. It is made up of two parts. Part one shows comparisons between participating countries while part two shows the compiled results of participating countries. Questions asked were broad and wide ranging such as the implications of staff working from home to machinery sales.

Some of the charts would be relevant to dealers in Ireland. Unfortunately, Ireland is not a member of CLIMMAR. I am not sure what the reason is but I feel that being part of a European dealership organisation is more important now than ever before. I know we are an island nation but it doesn’t mean we have to be isolated.

It must be remembered that the above mentioned survey was taken in May, when the mood at that time was of hope for a recovery. Businesses around Europe were re-opening and Covid-19 cases were on the decline. But things have changed since then. The second wave of Covid-19 is rearing its ugly head all around the globe. Thankfully, Ireland is keeping the numbers down but allowing visitors from overseas to enter the country does not bode well. It will be similar in European countries. With that in mind, I would be interested to see a similar CLIMMAR survey take place in September to see if the statistics have changed.

Visit the CLIMMAR website where you can download a copy of the survey.