www.emico.co
BUSINESS
IRELAND
EMBRACING DIVERSITY AND CHANGE Sarah Murphy - Managing Director, Business Post Events & iQuest
O
ver 120 cranes frame the skyline of Ireland’s capital. Housing and rental prices soar at an eerily familiar high, Dublin’s infrastructure systems are bending beneath the weight of a heaving population and economy and it would seem the only way to go is up; both literally and figuratively. Down at street level; restaurants, cafés and bars sing with the ebb and flow of conversation, laughter and clinking glasses. The working late lunch has made a welcome return, the ping of the contactless payment has engulfed the city and the gloomy days of austerity seem like a distant folk tale that is reluctantly whispered about in hushed and darkened corners. The boom is well and truly back. May 2019 sees Ireland’s unemployment rate sitting at a low of 5.4%. Opportunities peer around every corner and despite the concerning implications of the looming threat of Brexit, the allure of Dublin as a place to do business has never been more appealing. Highly skilled and well-travelled emigrants are returning home to the emerald isle in their droves, bringing with them a plethora of knowledge from markets and industries If you would like to hear more about the Dublin Chapter of BITA or to get involved, please contact Chapter Chairperson Sarah Murphy on smurphy@sbpost.ie or Laura Watkins on laura@bita.ie
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across the world. 2018 saw the number of Irish emigrants returning exceed the number of people leaving for the first time since the height of the crash in 2009. British, European and global companies are all looking to Ireland as both a natural and attractive location for a business base as our closest neighbour’s exit of the European Union goes through the motions. The Government’s Project Ireland 2040 National Planning Framework report predicts a population growth of 1 million by 2040, with 75% of this to take place outside of Dublin. However, we must question how the country, on both a governmental and a private business level, is preparing its infrastructure development for this growth. In Dublin the only place left to go up is up in storey size and that sparks a whole area of debate, as witnessed after the approval of Johnny’s Ronan’s 22 storey Tara Street Tower last month. It is imperative that businesses look to the regions for development opportunities. The national crane count clearly demonstrates the stark inequality in building activity between Dublin and the rest of the country. Dublin’s 123 cranes, correct as of May 2019, tower over
the 2 in Galway, 2 in Limerick and 7 in Cork. To help address this imbalance, we must see investment in Ireland’s regional infrastructural deficits, including road and rail networks, ports and airports, broadband and energy networks and water and waste services. With all of this in mind, the principles and ideology of the British and Irish Trading Alliance have never been more relevant or important. BITA was founded on the basis of its members being ‘people who know people who help people,’ and this ethos is the cornerstone of its dynamic and diverse Dublin board. It’s members hail from a range of sectors; including the legal, finance, construction, media and professional services industries to name but a few. The membership spans the length and breadth of the country and champions diversity and inclusion. The mandate of the Irish chapter is to develop the commercial and networking opportunities for its members by optimising a dynamic events programme and highly engaged member base. The monthly Thursday evening networking events in The Mint Bar at The Westin Hotel in central Dublin are lively and well attended and give both new and seasoned members a chance to develop new contacts and make new introductions. The Summer lunch at The Westin Hotel and the Christmas lunch at the Intercontinental Hotel Ballsbridge are highlights of the Dublin social calendar with hundreds of members and their contacts coming together to celebrate Irish business success, listen to interesting and educational speakers and build on their professional networks, all while in a relaxed and social setting. On a personal note, having relocated back to Dublin at the beginning of 2019 after almost 10 years living and working in London, I have returned to a muchchanged city and country than that which I left in the height of the recession. It is a country that is motivated and driven, that is embracing diversity and change, that boasts a young, self-assured and highly skilled workforce, that has proven its resilience and earned its stripes during a period of hardship and austerity and has come out the other side. Let’s make sure we grasp the opportunities in front of us, invest in the infrastructure and development needed and lay the foundations across the country to ensure a period of prolonged prosperity and growth.
