County Carlow Chamber of Commerce met with Minister Alan Dillon TD to discuss the concerns and needs of SME’s in county Carlow. The meeting was also attended by Minister Jennifer Murnane O’Connor TD and Catherine Callaghan TD.
Alan Dillon TD is Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with special responsibility for Small Businesses and Retail and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications with special responsibility for Circular Economy.
County Carlow Chamber of Commerce represents over two hundred local businesses, from sole traders through to large multinationals. These businesses are the backbone of our local economy. As a Chamber their role is to be the voice of this business community – supporting, promoting and advocating.
‘The Chamber regularly speaks with and surveys members to ensure that we are fully aware of the issues that each business type and sector are facing at any given time.’ Explains Michael Quinn, President of County Carlow Chamber. ‘This open and very constructive meeting with the Minister and his team, gave an opportunity for the Chamber to outline the key issues our members face and to voice the concerns of local businesses. It also gave us the opportunity to learn more about the plans and strategy that the government are putting in place to deal with challenges facing SMEs.’
Businesses are experiencing an unprecedented period of global uncertainty and disruption that has very real impacts in terms of barriers to market, increased costs, supply chain challenges and threats to consumer confidence. Competitiveness will be key to growth and during the meeting the Minister outlined the ways in which the government, as a whole, is putting measures in place to increase competitiveness and productivity.
‘As a Chamber, we were pleased to hear the detail of the all-government response to these challenges and in particular we welcome the creation of the Small Business Unit and the plans for the SME test.’ Says Nicola Doran, CEO of County Carlow Chamber. ‘In recent years, small and medium sized businesses have been disproportionately impacted by red tape and increased regulatory administration. We welcome the SME test that will filter all government policies to minimise the impact for SME’s. We are hopeful that meaningful interventions such as these will ease some of the burden on businesses.’
Carlow has come a long way in recent years, and our business community are resilient and resourceful. Targeted, practical and impactful supports for small businesses would make a tangible difference not only to local businesses but to the economic welfare of the wider community.
‘ As a county, Carlow is incredibly resilient and progressive despite the many challenges faced over the years. We will shortly see the impact of the URDF funding. This will see a whole new streetscape in Carlow town. Supports, such as the Cost of Doing Business grants have been a lifeline for many businesses – and I am glad to see a drive to review classifications so that a wider net of businesses can benefit from this practical support’ commented Minister Murnane O’Connor. ‘Conversations like this with Minister Dillon and his team are important so that the specific issues felt by businesses on the ground are being reflected in government action.’
Below are some of the key issues raised by the Chamber based on their members’ feedback:
- Stemming the rising costs of doing business
- Dealing with high energy costs
- Securing additional Foreign Direct Investment for Carlow
- Continued funding and investment support
- Improved infrastructure to facilitate and support economic growth
As a county the level of collaboration between key support agencies, educational bodies, business organisations and our local and national politicians has been very positive.
‘ Collaboration is a vital driver of success – so keeping a focus on how we can all work together to drive change is a key priority.’ Explains Catherine Callaghan TD. ‘ I’m proud to say throughout county Carlow we have a strong record of working together for the development of the county – and there is commitment from all to ensure that this continues. At national level there is an understanding of the need to increase competitiveness, and to speed up the decision-making processes so that support, funding, investment and economic development can happen faster and more effectively.’