Dublin Chamber recently welcomed the publication of the Cost of Doing Business Advisory Forum Report, following our active participation as a member of the Forum over the past 12 months. Drawing on member feedback, we advocated for practical measures to reduce costs, cut red tape and improve the operating environment for businesses. A number of our key asks are reflected in the report’s 63 recommendations, including a stronger SME Test for new regulation, reform of Revenue’s Enhanced Reporting Requirements, simpler planning and licensing processes and greater transparency around utility and banking charges. We will continue to engage with Government to ensure these recommendations are implemented and deliver tangible improvements for firms. The report can be accessed here.

We continued our engagement this month with Government and elected representatives ahead of Budget 2027. This included a meeting with Maeve O’Connell TD in Leinster House, where we discussed findings from our Q2 Business Outlook Survey on AI and skills and reiterated our call for more ambitious use of the National Training Fund. We also met with Clare Mungovan, Special Adviser to Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris, and Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke to press the Chamber’s key priorities for Budget 2027, particularly around supporting investment and innovation, while improving the operating environment for SMEs.

Dublin Chamber was also proud to sponsor and MC the Dublin Economics Workshop Annual Policy Conference again this year, which took place in Wexford on 11–12 September. The conference provided a valuable opportunity to engage with senior political, economic and diplomatic stakeholders, including Minister Jack Chambers, Department of Public Expenditure Deputy Secretary Jasmina Behan, MEP Barry Andrews, British Ambassador to Ireland Kara Owen and ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane, while bringing the perspectives of Dublin businesses into wider discussions on Ireland’s economic and competitiveness outlook. Access all papers from the conference here.

We also wrote to Dublin’s four local authorities this month on the need to plan now for Dublin’s future housing requirements. We called on each authority to ensure there is sufficient land and infrastructure capacity to support increased housing delivery over the medium and longer term, including the necessary transport, water, wastewater and energy infrastructure. We also asked authorities to identify the key barriers to housing delivery and where further action is required from Government or State agencies.

On 16 September, Dublin Chamber welcomed the Government’s decision to progress MetroLink through AG2, giving approval for the project to move to the detailed tender stage where bids will be sought and delivery partners selected. With enabling works due to begin next year, we stressed that the focus must now be on maintaining momentum, securing value through procurement and avoiding further delays. MetroLink will significantly increase public transport capacity, connect Dublin Airport directly to the rail network and support future housing and economic growth. Read our press release here.