It's a year since the Irish economy first shut down. Parts of it have scarcely reopened since. For an update on how the pandemic is affecting the overall economy, Ciaran talks to Mark Paul of The Irish Times and economist Jim Power. In the retail sector, many businesses are carrying significant rent arrears from periods of lockdown. Some of them may never be able to pay those arrears back. But the shopkeepers and stall-holders of George's Street Arcade in Dublin won't face this problem, because their landlord has suspended rents throughout the periods of lockdown. We hear from Gwen Layden of Layden Group, the family company that owns the Arcade, about why she has taken this approach, how much it has cost her family and why she says all commercial tenants should be treated in this way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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