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EXCLUSIVE

By Sean Moriarty

Killarney Gardai will continue to monitor retail premises to ensure they are only open for the sale of essential goods.

In last week’s Killarney Advertiser Cllr Niall ‘Botty’ O’Callaghan raised concerns that some retailers were using loopholes to continue trading. Under current Level 5 restrictions shops that sell essential goods, like food or medicine, can continue to trade, while non-essential retailers most close their doors.

There were concerns that some retailers were exploiting the rules with reports that one toy shop remained open as it was selling toilet roll and a clothes shop continued trading as it was offering facemasks for sale.

Following O’Callaghan’s, and other politicians’ calls, Gardai started a nationwide operation to clampdown on those using the loopholes to continue trading.

Killarney Gardai visited a number of Killarney stores on Sunday and will continue to keep a watchful eye on the retailers between now and December 1 when the current restrictions are due to be relaxed.

“There has been a high-level of compliance in Killarney,” Superintendent Flor Murphy told the Killarney Advertiser. “We will continue to monitor it, what we want is compliance, we don’t want to go down the enforcement and prosecution route.”

According to the Level 5 restrictions, “retailers with mixed retail offering which have discrete spaces for essential and non-essential retail should make arrangements for the separation of relevant areas”.