During August, Dublin Chamber Chief Executive, Mary Rose Burke, and Head of Public Affairs, Stephen Browne, met with the new Lord Mayor of Dublin, Ray McAdam. Discussions centred around priorities for the city, including getting Dublin moving, urban rejuvenation and building a more vibrant city centre. Dublin Chamber wishes the Lord Mayor every success in his term ahead, and we look forward to working with him and his colleagues in Dublin City Council to ensure that Dublin remains an attractive and accessible place to live, work and visit.
Following recent attacks in Dublin, Chief Executive Mary Rose Burke issued a statement on behalf of Dublin Chamber members condemning anti-social behaviour in all its forms. Calling for stronger enforcement of anti-hate legislation and more coordinated action across all stakeholders, Burke noted that Dublin Chamber will continue its engagement with An Garda Siochana, Dublin City Council and the Department of Justice to ensure that the measures needed to prevent such attacks are put in place. Our thoughts are with the victims and their communities at this difficult time. Read our press release in full here.
Dublin Chamber also recently made a policy submission on competitiveness to the Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, chaired by James O’Connor T.D. With the global environment continuing to shift rapidly through rising protectionism, deglobalisation and now new U.S tariff policies, safeguarding Ireland’s competitiveness has become a central priority for Dublin businesses. In our submission, we highlight key pressures facing Ireland, and Dublin in particular, including housing and infrastructure deficits and bureaucratic and labour market constraints, amongst others. For Dublin to maintain its position of strength and competitive edge, sustained investment and policy action are needed to address these barriers. Read our submission here.
Next week, Dublin Chamber will continue its pre-Budget lobbying as we meet with Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe. This engagement represents a key opportunity to present our members’ priorities - across housing and infrastructure delivery, enterprise taxation reform and labour market issues - directly to the Minister and Department responsible for preparing Budget 2026. We look forward to this important discussion and also to welcoming the Minister as our guest speaker on Wednesday, 10th September at the Marker Hotel, where he will address members directly.