People across the South East are being urged to support local in the run up to Christmas.
That's the view of Brian O'Farrell, CEO of Carlow Chamber, who is urging people to shop local this festive season.
Smaller businesses and retailers have been hit hard by the ongoing pandemic, having spent much of this year closed.
Speaking to Beat News, Brian O'Farrell, says it hasn't been easy for them:
'Our local businesses are at the heart of our communities'
'Covid has thrown a lot of challenges at businesses, especially with Brexit coming in January.'
'That's why we want to continue and make sure we have got a strong business base and a strong mix of businesses across the county and the South East.'
O'Farrell also says customers are guaranteed to get a more personal experience from a local business:
'It's great to see that so many many of them have transferred that personal experience in some ways into the online side of things as well'
'No matter what way you do it, whether is online or offline, local is key and it's so important that we all support it'
