Craic On

Moville Economy

Things have looked bleak here for years now. The downturn hit Ireland very badly. It hit Moville & Greencastle even more so.

Businesses like the Caiseal Mara, The Clock, the Bar-a-Cuda (now Annie’s Bar), the AIB building and Foyle View went for between 10% and 20% of what they used to be worth and some even less.

Our children were leaving the area in droves (and some still are) to look for work in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA and the UK.

The future looked bleak for Moville and Greencastle.

Economic Boost for Moville and Greencastle

However, they have been given a huge boost recently from two factors that have yet to fully play out.

The first one is the price of the pound sterling against the Euro. This time last year you got €1.18 to your pound. Now it is €1.31.

That makes Moville and Greencastle much cheaper for people from Derry and the North and from the UK in general.

Pound v Euro

It’s bad news for those who earn their money in Euros and spend some of it in sterling.

It’s good news for those who earn their money in sterling and mainly spend it in Euros – those who work in the North and live in Moville and Greencastle.

It’s also good news for those from Moville who work in the UK and come back for visits, as well as regular visitors from the UK to Moville.

Moville Businesses

It’s fantastic news for Moville businesses, especially those in the tourist trade. In recent years people from the North and from the rest of the UK found Moville expensive. Now prices are comparable and in some cases cheaper.

The benefits will be seen immediately by shops as their prices have improved compared to the North. The big benefits will be seen by the tourist businesses like pubs and restaurants in the summer when the tourists arrive.

There should be more people coming off the ferry this year at Greencastle to spend their money there and in Moville.

Heating Oil Prices

The second major boost for the area is the tumbling in oil prices from $120 a barrel on the international market too $49 a barrel. Heating oil and petrol prices are tumbling.

There is more to come as the oil price is still falling and the current falls haven’t fully worked their way through to local suppliers yet.

It is also a big boost for local businesses who have to spend less on their heating and transport.

More Money to Spend

If local people spend appreciably less on their oil they’ll have it to spend elsewhere in local shops, bars and restaurants as well as with local tradesmen, hairdressers etc.
If the businesses are doing better they may take on more staff and / or increase the hours of staff working in pubs, restaurants etc.

If those people go out and spend the extra money they get it will boost local businesses further, who will then hire more staff.

It’s a virtuous circle.

Moville Economic Recovery

The pockets of people worldwide will get a boost from the lower oil price and more of them may decided that they would like a trip to this area now they can afford it more.

Moville and Greencastle have waited a long time for any semblance of a recovery. Many businesses had already started to recover – but off very low levels.

However, this double boost to the local economy should be a major driver in the recovery in the economies of Moville & Greencastle.

And not a moment too soon!

We’ve waited a long time!