Businesses, groups and members of the public from across the Shannonside region have been highlighting their needs as budget 2023 draws close.
Negotiations on the 14 billion euro Budget and cost of living package continued into the earlier hours of this morning, with the details to be announced tomorrow afternoon.
Energy bills, school transport, rent and business supports are topping the list locally as people across the region call on the government to help.
One Roscommon business woman says that government supports need made easily accessible for small retailers if they are to remain open after her energy bills increased by close to €15,000 in one month.
Speaking to the Joe Finnegan Show this morning, Annie Timothy, owner of Timothy’s Londis in Abbeytown, says Government action must be delivered rapidly and without red tape:
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As a business person here in town, the best part of my business is my staff
it's abhorrent to think of letting any of our staff go Joe, It really upsets me.
We're part of the community, our staff are part of the community and for us to survive and keep going, we need an understanding from Government.
We need processes that are simple and not over complicated
One of the areas most affecting families with school aged children is the lack of school transport options.
Brianna Faughnan, a local representative with the Irish Secondary Students Union, told the Joe Finnegan Show that families need more than promises and that the budget must deliver definitive action:
Norma Foley has gone on record and says she is hopeful they will have 6,000 extra tickets.
But we'd want a bit more than hope at this point to be honest.
A lot of children are left with seats on a bus, their parents are having to make hour long journeys that they wouldn't be used to making.
Everything is being rearranged and obviously with people having to take the car it means added diesel and petrol prices which are much higher now.
