This month, Dublin Chamber brought a delegation of businesses to Leinster House for an Oireachtas reception. Hosted by Cormac Devlin TD, the evening facilitated engaging discussions between key policymakers and members of the Dublin business community, with Dublin Chamber’s business priorities central to these conversations.

Among those who attended were Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Daragh O’ Brien, Minister of State at the Department of Finance Neale Richmond, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise Emer Higgins, Deputies; Paul McAuliffe TD, Ivana Bacik TD, Róisín Shortall TD, Cormac Devlin TD and Alan Farrell TD, as well as Senators Michael McDowell, Gerry Horkan, and Victor Boyhan.

The reception provided Dublin Chamber members a valuable opportunity to engage directly with policymakers and discuss the Chamber’s priorities for this year, which fall under four pillars: Labour, Sustainability, Infrastructure and Competitiveness.

1.     Labour

Priorities include harnessing the untapped potential of the labour force by subsidising childcare costs and transitioning to public provision of childcare, investing in education and training to meet evolving industry demands and aiding SMEs in talent retention through share-based remuneration and legislative relief.

2.     Sustainability

Priorities include allocating Carbon Tax revenue to sustainable city infrastructure and R&D, implementing an SME test for all new legislation to mitigate financial burdens and ensuring climate action targets do not impede investment for large energy users.

3.     Infrastructure

Priorities include committing to sustainable urban development in Dublin to support its growing population and economy, addressing water security and energy supply concerns, ensuring timely implementation and funding of vital National Development Plan projects, as well as progressing MetroLink, Dart+ and BusConnects projects swiftly.

4.     Competitiveness

Priorities include encouraging SME innovation through R&D tax incentives and broadening access to finance, reducing tax on entrepreneurs' dividends, streamlining the Employment and Investment Incentive, revising requirements for Angel investors and increasing funding for An Garda Síochána to ensure effective policing for community safety.

Read Dublin Chamber’s full Policy Priorities for 2024 here.