Wednesday, 22nd October: Eoghan Quigley, Dublin Chamber President, delivers remarks at Dublin Chamber Annual Dinner, calling on Government to take bold action to deliver for the Capital and its business community.
Tonight, Wednesday 22nd of October, in front of an audience of over 1,000 business representatives at Dublin Chamber’s 2025 Annual Dinner, sponsored by AIB, Dublin Chamber President, Eoghan Quigley, urged Government to adopt a bold and ambitious vision for Dublin’s future – one that empowers risk-takers, cuts through regulatory red tape and delivers meaningful progress for the Capital.
In his keynote address, Quigley emphasised the need to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem where both major foreign direct investors and home-grown founders and entrepreneurs can thrive. He highlighted the urgent need to ensure that Ireland remains not only an attractive destination for FDI, but equally a place where indigenous innovators can scale and succeed.
He also underscored the quagmire that is the regulatory system in Ireland which is creating unsustainable planning bottlenecks in delivering major projects, such as the Greater Dublin Drainage Project. He also called out the unacceptable overuse of judicial reviews that hold up vital projects, emphasising the need to balance the public good against individual rights.
While clearly stating these challenges, the Dublin Chamber President reaffirmed the organisations commitment to being a critical but constructive partner to Government. Dubin Chamber stands ready to work with this Government to ensure that the policies and reforms needed to secure Dublin’s economic and social future are implemented with urgency.
Attendees also heard from Tánaiste Simon Harris T.D., Alastair Campbell, British journalist, author, strategist, broadcaster, and activist, and Pat Horgan, Head of Business Banking, Capital Markets, AIB and MC for the evening Mary Rose Burke, CEO, Dublin Chamber.
*Eoghan Quigley Speech*
Check Against Delivery.
Annual Dinner President's Speech
Opening Welcome
Thank you, Mary Rose.
And welcome, Tánaiste, Ministers, Oireachtas members, Ambassadors, distinguished guests, and of course, my fellow Dublin Chamber members.
It’s a great privilege to be here with you all this evening.
When I became President of Dublin Chamber back in February, I spoke about what an honour it is to represent such a remarkable institution. This evening, surrounded by so many who share such passion for Dublin and its business community - and with my wife Sile here supporting me - I feel that sense of honour more than ever.
Introduction
I know many of you were at our AGM dinner, where I reflected on my own journey - from three decades as an international tax adviser to my more recent role as an angel investor.
Those experiences provide me with both insights into the world of Foreign Direct Investment and into the exciting, interconnected ecosystem of entrepreneurs, all looking to grow and scale their businesses from their Irish base. Ireland has reaped the benefits of a very successful FDI policy for many years – and hopefully for many more. But it has failed, and continues to fail, indigenous business in terms of rewarding the risk-taking needed for start-ups to grow into world-class firms. Homegrown multinational successes are few and far between. And many successful founders move abroad to set up their next business or to act as a mentor to their successors.
Experience has also taught me something else - something every business leader in this room knows instinctively: even the best enterprise policy in the world is not enough on its own. Because without modern, reliable infrastructure - the systems that enable our people and businesses to function - growth stalls, opportunities fade, and competitiveness erodes.
Accelerating Infrastructure – Breaking the Bottlenecks
If Dublin and Ireland are to remain world-class places to do business, we need to deliver better on the basics - building railway lines, piping water, upgrading the electricity grid, and providing affordable housing. The funding is there; that’s not the problem. The challenge is how to spend it more effectively - delivering projects on time and on budget.
Budget 2026 effectively restated the spending commitments in the National Development Plan from July. There is €275 billion allocated over the next decade to providing water, wastewater, public transport, energy infrastructure, and housing. But beyond headlines, there is little in the way of detail regarding what specific programmes and projects are to proceed. While reference is made to measures to speed up delivery and move vital projects off the page and into construction, no concrete plans have been outlined.
We therefore look forward to the forthcoming sectoral reports from various Government Departments and the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce’s findings, but, in the meantime, Dublin Chamber remains deeply concerned about the regulatory and planning barriers that continue to hinder the delivery of critical infrastructure.
At a recent Chamber briefing, I was particularly struck by a presentation from Uisce Éireann. They must navigate twelve separate regulatory and local bodies – twelve! And that’s before they can even begin projects. Most project approvals also must happen sequentially, not in parallel. That isn’t good governance. That’s bureaucracy gone mad.
Of course, we need robust and responsible regulation. But regulators cannot hold the national interest to ransom – and neither can endless objections that delay projects critical to unlocking and unblocking housing and growth.
Dublin Chamber commends the recent proposals to address the challenges surrounding judicial reviews and urges their swift implementation. We were deeply disappointed to see a new judicial review lodged against the Greater Dublin Drainage Scheme. Planning for this vital piece of infrastructure was first submitted in 2018, and now, seven years later, objections are still causing delay. Most recently, reports emerged over the weekend of another judicial review being submitted against the DART+ Coastal North project.
Unless there are clear and compelling reasons to say no, the public good must take precedence. Every year of delay in delivering critical infrastructure, Dublin becomes less liveable, less sustainable, and less competitive.
Equally, the MetroLink project – the latest version of the Metro project - was mooted as far back as 2018. Finally, I can see a green light, but it will take another ten years to complete. Government must not allow that kind of timeline to become the standard for major projects.
Richard Shakespeare, who runs Dublin City Council, is here tonight. Richard gave us a really illuminating address a few weeks ago, and one thing that stuck with me was his exasperation at the regulatory hurdles he faces. Ireland, I think we can all agree, would get a gold medal in regulation.
I am also delighted that we are joined this evening by Sean O’Driscoll, who is leading the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce. Sean, I thank you and salute you for taking that on, as the country needs strong entrepreneurial business people stepping forward to help get things built.
Tánaiste, we will be supporting you in your leadership role in ensuring that strong government action drives this Taskforce’s recommendations through the system.
The success of this Government will not be judged by its plans or announcements - but by progress we can all see on the ground.
Entrepreneurship and Indigenous Enterprise
On infrastructure overall, I’m cautiously optimistic. But when it comes to Government’s support for Ireland’s indigenous enterprise ecosystem, I’m terribly disappointed.
This month, we were told by Government that they had delivered a “business-friendly” budget. Yet for those of us at the coalface of entrepreneurship, it fell far short of what’s truly needed to back home-grown business.
As I said back at our AGM, the FDI winds that have powered our economy are no longer tailwinds. We cannot depend on overseas capital to keep pouring money into Ireland. We
have to control what we can control – and on that front, the indigenous industry package in Budget 2026 missed the mark.
It would be reckless for this country to continue to rely so heavily on FDI as the only material economic driver for its economy. Ireland must give its indigenous enterprises the resources to power growth on equal terms.
Tinkering with existing schemes won't fix the problem, however, because the schemes don’t work. I am not aware of anyone who has taken up the Angel Investor Relief from last year’s Budget – and I’m an Angel Investor. The KEEP scheme was renewed, yet its complexity stifles uptake. The €500,000 increase to the Entrepreneurs’ Relief in this month’s Budget was a token gesture - an insult to ambition and to those willing to take real risks in pursuit of meaningful returns.
The Employment and Investment Incentive Scheme (EIIS) is supposed to encourage investment in SMEs through income tax relief. However, a very substantial proportion of potential capital sits within companies, pensions, and individuals like me who earn no material income. The very design of EIIS, therefore, distorts valuations and can disincentivise serious investors, which is totally contrary to what is intended and needed. It’s nuts. I could go on further about these and other schemes, but it would just be a rant about bureaucracy and regulation.
Dublin Chamber called for the rate of Capital Gains Tax to be reduced to 20% for disposals of investments in unquoted, active Irish companies in Budget 2026. At present, our tax system treats investing in a small Irish start-up exactly the same as buying shares in the likes of the Magnificent 7 – the top tech stocks. This ignores the illiquidity and risk premiums, and just makes no sense.
Instead, the Budget offered minor tweaks and token measures - changes that will do very little to close the funding gap facing startups and scaling firms, or to encourage seasoned entrepreneurs to build the next wave of Irish success stories. Once again, Government failed to back the very people who take the risks that drive this economy forward. Yes, strengthening supports like the R&D tax credit and the minuscule increase in Entrepreneurs’
Relief are well and good, but these measures alone won’t deliver the next generation of home-grown multinationals.
It seems that there is a fear in Government circles that cutting the rate of Capital Gains Tax would be seen by the public as serving the few but not the many. But let’s be honest: if rewarding Irish risk-takers is considered pandering to fat cats, then Ireland is in serious trouble. Because when capital isn’t treated well, it leaves - and so do the very people who build and scale companies, create jobs, and pay taxes.
If Ireland continues to overtax risk-taking, that’s exactly what will happen. The State won’t be collecting 33% or even 20% in CGT - it will collect nothing. The next business we back and lend our expertise to won’t be Irish; it’ll be wherever ambition is welcomed, not punished. So, call it what you will, but if encouraging investment, risk, and innovation is “pandering to fat cats,” then we need more of it.
There is a lot of talk about Government creating and protecting jobs. Yet, it is entrepreneurs and founders who create businesses - not government or venture capitalists. Ireland should aspire to be the Silicon Valley of Europe - not a country that punishes its own entrepreneurs.
We have an outstanding ecosystem: ambitious founders, skilled talent, and investors who believe in Ireland’s potential. What we need now - and in the years ahead - is clarity, courage, and common sense. Not another round of schemes or half-measures, but real conviction. We need leaders willing to reward risk and to back the people building Ireland’s future, instead of driving them to build it somewhere else.
Safety in the City
Before I finish, I want to speak about something beyond economics.
The recent rise in anti-social behaviour on our streets and the disgraceful threats made against our Tánaiste are an insult to everything this country stands for. There must be zero tolerance for hate crimes. Not now. Not ever.
Tánaiste, you are a strong leader. Nobody should have to endure what you and your family have faced. You have the support of the business community.
Over the last few decades, Dublin has flourished into a diverse, cosmopolitan city, a place that welcomes individuals from all over the world. That diversity has been one of the great strengths behind our economic success.
We should be proud of that - and we must protect it. That means swift, firm consequences for hate crimes, but also the courage to tackle their underlying causes.
Dublin Chamber has long called for safer, cleaner, brighter streets, and we welcome the Dublin Taskforce as a meaningful step toward delivering lasting improvements to the look and feel of our city. David McRedmond, who chaired the taskforce, is here tonight, and I commend you, David, for your great work. I also commend the Tánaiste for setting up such an important group. We, as a Chamber, are here to help in any way we can with getting the actions that it proposes implemented.
Conclusion
Let me be clear, the business community does not want to fight the Government. We want to be a constructive partner - one that works with you but also holds you to account for delivering a stronger Dublin and a better Ireland.
We can’t control global headwinds or geopolitical storms. But we can control how we steer our own ship. And right now, we have the wind of opportunity at our backs, if we choose to seize it.
I’ve talked about us being in the gold medal position for regulation. I was inspired by our athletes striving for gold in Tokyo last month. That’s the type of gold we should be going for. I had the honour of meeting Daniel Wiffin a few weeks ago, and he is talking about 3 golds. That level of raw ambition is inspiring. We need that same spirit of ambition - in sport, in enterprise, and for the quality of life we strive to build in our great city and across this extraordinary little country.
So, let’s make bold choices. Let’s reward the people who build. Let’s deliver the infrastructure we’ve all been promised. And let’s make Dublin the best city in the world to take a risk and to start a business.
Thank you, and enjoy your evening.