The Sam McCauley pharmacy and store in Waterford City is to close with the loss of 27 jobs.
Staff were told of the planned closure on January 31st next year, yesterday evening.
CEO of Sam McCauley, Tony McEntee, told the Waterford News and Star, that trading conditions in the Waterford retail sector have been exceptionally challenging
for some years, never recovering momentum from pre recession times.
He said the loss of the a significant amount of the dispensing business in 2016 also contributed to the decision to close the store which opened in Broad Street in 2001.
Mr. McEntee said the closure would have no impact on their Williamstown pharmacy which will continue to trade.
Fianna Fail Councillor Eddie Mulligan says the announcement that Sam McCauley would be closing its doors in January came as a shock to many, but he says that it proves what retailers in Waterford have been saying for many months - the recovery has not reached Waterford City yet.
“I’ve been speaking with retailers and businesses in Waterford for some time now and they have been saying that 2018 has been a struggle,” Cllr Mulligan said. “I have been berated by fellow politicians who just don’t seem to want to know that our local economy is fragile. Being positive is one thing, being deluded is another thing entirely.”
Cllr Mulligan says “The most recent figures available from the Central Statistic Office (CSO - 2015) on County incomes and Regional GDP show Waterford’s reported disposable income is €26,459 per person, which was 19.9% lower than Dublin, 10.4% lower than Limerick and 3.6% lower than Cork!” Cllr Mulligan added. “In addition to this, Revenue Commissioners data from April 2017 endorses the huge numbers on the minimum wage in Waterford and the South East (SE) - 13.2% in SE versus 10.1% for the State as a whole and only 8.2% for Dublin. This quite clearly shows that there continues to be a "Three Tier Economic Recovery" and Waterford is in the third tier!”
