On 8th May, the Dublin Chamber President and Public Affairs team met with Maeve O’Connell T.D. to discuss the persistent challenges businesses face in accessing finance. During the meeting, we presented our latest report ‘Dublin: Economic Profile and Competitiveness’, and advocated for a reduction in Capital Gains Tax (CGT) to 20% for disposals of investments in unquoted, actively trading Irish firms. Dublin Chamber believes this measure would more effectively incentivise risk-taking and provide critical funding for early-stage enterprises, supporting a more dynamic start-up ecosystem.
On the 12th of May, we continued our engagement with Dublin policymakers, meeting with Barry Heneghan T.D. at Leinster House. We reiterated our business priorities, focusing on the importance of sustained and targeted investment in public transport and housing to support Dublin’s growing population and workforce. Public safety in the city was also discussed. We welcomed members’ reports of an increased Garda presence on the streets and reiterated the need for continued and enhanced efforts in this area.
To round off a busy month of engagement with Dublin officials, Dublin Chamber met with Deputy Shane Moynihan on the 14th of May to discuss the urgent need to accelerate the delivery of key infrastructure projects. These include the Eastern and Midlands Water Supply Project, Dublin Drainage Scheme and Eirgrid’s Powering Up Dublin initiative – all critical developments for ensuring Dublin’s future resilience. We also underscored the urgency of progressing major public transport projects such as MetroLink, DART+ schemes, BusConnects and Luas network expansions. Together, these infrastructure projects are vital to enhancing Dublin’s long-term competitiveness and enabling it to function effectively as a thriving and sustainable business hub.
During May, Dublin Chamber members also had the opportunity to hear directly from Darragh O’Brien T.D., now serving as Minister for Transport and Climate, Environment and Energy. The Minister laid out his department’s strategic goals, including climate targets, the energy transition, and large-scale infrastructure delivery, and members had the opportunity to put their questions directly to him. Dublin Chamber values our longstanding relationship with Minister O’Brien and looks forward to continued collaboration under his new portfolio.
As part of our preparations for Budget 2026, we met with senior officials from the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform this month to outline our key budget priorities. We called for the introduction of multi-annual budgets with allocations earmarked for critical infrastructure and housing delivery, as well as a cut in capital enterprise taxation to provide finance to growing and scaling indigenous Irish businesses. Dublin Chamber has since submitted its budget recommendations to the Department of Finance, Public Expenditure and Enterprise and the final document will be launched to members at the end of the summer break.
In addition to the above, Dublin Chamber also met with Sinn Féin’s Enterprise team, including Rose Conway-Walsh T.D., Cathy Bennett T.D., and Paul Donnelly T.D. We presented a comprehensive overview of our member priorities, addressing the rising cost of doing business, regional infrastructure bottlenecks, and strategic budgetary asks for Budget 2026.