Irish booksellers contribute €132 million to economy

A report commissioned by Bookselling Ireland has found the bookselling and supply chain sector contributes €132 million (A$211.7 million) to the Irish economy, reports the Irish Times.

The report by economist Jim Power was previewed at the annual Bookselling Ireland conference and will be published in full later in the year.

According to the report’s findings, Irish bookstores, excluding Amazon, have collective revenues of €98 million (A$157.1 million), almost two-thirds of which is from Dublin stores, with the overall bookstore and supply chain sector’s turnover reaching €132 million (A$211.7 million).

The report also found a total of 234 bookstores in Ireland support 1796 full-time jobs and a further 1437 jobs in the wider economy, delivering gross wages of €32.3 million (A$51.8 million).

‘It is very clear that, despite the challenges of recent years, the Irish bookselling sector is in good health and is making a strong economic and financial contribution to the Irish economy,’ said Power. ‘Apart from the economic and financial contribution, the social and cultural impact is huge. No Irish town is complete without a good bookshop.’

Bookselling Ireland chairman Frank Kelly said the organisation is ‘delighted’ to have facts to prove the value and impact of bookselling.

‘[We] look forward to working with the Government, the trade and the media to help them understand the true fiscal, societal and cultural impacts we have, and how much poorer the Irish economy and landscape would be without us,’ said Kelly.

Category: International news