Cork Penny Dinners say they're helping more small business owners than ever before

The charity say many businesses won't reopen their doors again as the effects of COVID19 have been detrimental to the operations

The charity say the pandemic has hit small businesses very hard as  the social distancing requirements and many months of forced closure have resulted in a number of businesses across Cork announcing their permanent closure 

Speaking to RedFM News Catriona Twomey of Cork Penny Dinners not only have they lost their livelihoods, they're also in debt and struggling to make ends meet:

Their life's dream has gone down the swanee, they're wondering, how can they start all over again,. A  lot of people don't own the premises that their businesses are in either so on top of paying out wages and rates and stuff like that they are paying huge huge rents. If you don't own the premises you're operating in you could be struggling big time. So these people are suffering greatly. And it's very very sad to see their dreams, just disappearing like this, and it's out of their control out of their hands"