A dedicated team has been established to assist in dealing with the impact of the COVID 19 crisis on the Kerry economy. The economic recovery locally will require a sustained collaborative effort over a prolonged period and the challenges and requirements will evolve both with national government initiatives and local co-ordinated responses.

Locally, this is being led by Kerry County Council and involving all the support agencies of the state at local and regional level including the IDA , Enterprise Ireland, Local Development Companies, Udarás na Gaeltachta, Fáilte Ireland, the higher education sector across the region, and also the wider business community including the various tourism groupings, Kerry Scitech, Chamber Alliances and the wider business sector in the county.  The coordination of this effort will require a great deal of work to ensure that agreed messages emanate from the county and appropriate and timely plans are in place and are realistic and actionable when the time is right.

The focus in the coming period will include:

• The articulation of the economic impact of COVID 19 on the county, including scenario planning for a number of possible alternative levels of continuing disruption to economic activity over a prolonged period
• The development of a co-ordinated response to the immediate needs of the business community, including the range of supports that are currently in place and will become available – including financial, training, mentoring, and other associated structural supports.
• The development of a number of initiatives that will support economic recovery at county level and achieving support across the business community for these initiatives – including short-term and longer-term marketing strategies, positioning the county to the fore in the emerging post-COVID-19 landscape.
• Sectoral engagement with the business community – dealing with the particular requirements of individual sectors including tourism, retail, construction and the wider business community, including the specific needs of particular locations including the various innovation hubs in the county.