Open for Business is a brand-new studio-based series for RTÉ One and will be broadcast from Tuesday, 21st of July at 7pm. Presented by journalists & broadcasters Richard Curran & Ella McSweeney, the series will be packed with a mix of fresh, useful information and advice to guide businesses, employers and employees - as well as consumers - trying to operate in this new normal. It is part of RTÉ's #BoostMyBusiness, which will see content across RTÉ helping Irish businesses bounce back. RTÉ will be supporting and promoting small and medium enterprises, around the country, as they deal with the challenges and the opportunities that lie ahead. It will highlight how powerful community support can be to local life, and to the greater economy.  

Businesses have never had to deal with a crisis like Covid-19 before. It has been described by the business community as a mini economic Ice Age, with 85% of businesses closing or scaling back at the height of lockdown. Right now, representative associations have expressed concern that up to 9000 small and local businesses could close their doors due to Covid-19 impacts. For consumers meanwhile, it’s a whole new world – all the things we take for granted from our shopping, travel, social, leisure experience has been turned upside down. 

Open for Business will share the stories of businesses at the coalface – their difficulties, frustrations, innovation and adaptability, through case studies & interviews from around the country, studio guests and international segments. Each week, it will provide clear, up-to-date and trusted information on the range of Government and other supports available – and the truth about how easy or difficult these are to access.  Meanwhile, many consumers are also naturally nervous about the reopening of our country. Open for Business aims to shed light on what it will mean for them going forward: how things have changed, and what can they expect & experience from the new norm.

The reopening of our country brings hope – but no doubt also fear. Though Government supports such as wage subsidies and pandemic payments have gone a long way in supporting people, Ireland is only at the beginning of the journey to unlock our economy.