Welcome Address: A year of achievements

As I reflect on my time as President of Fingal Chamber I can honestly say that as well as the difficulties and real pain that people have experienced as a result of the pandemic, this year has also been an interesting one of real achievements. It was a year in which we had to engage, partner and collaborate with many different stakeholders throughout the Fingal region and enjoyed positive outcomes as a result.

Largely reflecting their sectoral exposures, some of our members have continued to do well over the past 12 months and some have struggled. But I think we’re seeing further positive signs heralding recovery. The surge in cases of COVID in November has, of course, been a cause of concern. But even so, there are continuing grounds for optimism for the future.

Our work during the year saw us engaging with Fingal County Council with regard to the tourism strategy for the region, which is a topic close to my own heart. So many businesses within Fingal depend on visitors and we have made a big effort to showcase what we have on offer – north, south, east and west. Whether it’s Castleknock, Malahide, Swords or Balbriggan, we have something for everybody, from golf courses to castles to most amazing beaches, and it has been important to get that message out there.

We are also a region that produces superb food, with some fabulous producers in our midst, and it’s important the spread the word about our Farm to Fork offerings and there’s been considerable engagement on that, too.

This has also been a year when many businesses and organisations have taken the opportunity to question their business models and set out new strategies. Reflecting this new focus, in the Chamber we’ve tried to make sure that all our online events have been very strategic, with a focus on assisting our members navigate through these difficult times. Helping members with up-to-date and accurate information has been a particularly important role for the chamber over the past 18 months and we have been trying to keep members up to speed, for example on what supports are available from Government, just as soon as we have obtained information we know to be factually correct. We have even had a senior Government minister attend an online briefing during the year, helping to bring an added impetus to our communications.

Having endured 18 months of the pandemic we are all older and wiser at this stage. People have put disciplines in place and there is overall a strong sense of personal responsibility. From a business perspective we have learned, I think, about how we can adapt our approach to it. I’m certainly not suggesting we are in a position to throw caution to the wind. That would be foolhardy and irresponsible. But I do believe we can adopt a positive mindset with regard to future recovery. We do know that there will be more bumps in the road ahead and we need to be factual and honest with ourselves about that.

But having said that, many of us have been through difficult times before and have learned from them. Clearly these were not on the scale of the global pandemic, but the Global Financial Crisis of 2007/08, for example, also gave us cause to revisit our business plans and to build into them the flexibility needed to ensure resilience. Indeed, it could be argued that many businesses are in a better place today when it comes to adapting to the changes wrought by the pandemic simply because of the lessons they learned back in 2008.

The Chamber, too, has actively sought to identify ways in which it can improve its own relevance and services and the delivery of those services to its members. We’ve had own think tank as a result of which we have commenced a whole new membership development initiative. While this is still in its infancy, it is an initiative that really excites me. By demonstrating the Chamber’s effectiveness as a representative body for our members and the networking opportunities they can enjoy through involvement, I know that we are generating a big interest among businesses in the region who have not participated in the Chamber up to now.

The future safe resumption of in person events will play an important role in this, too. People enjoy meeting people, it is the lifeblood of business. Regrettably, in light of increasing Government advice and restrictions, it was necessary to cancel this year’s Christmas Business Lunch event. This, like other in person events, usually offers members an opportunity to network, to find out more about each other, with the potential to build relationships, create leads or find assistance with current business challenges. We will, hopefully, be in a position to resume this important person-to-person contact in future events in 2022.

I made reference to the success of the Fingal Chamber Community Fund in my comments in the last issue of this magazine, but I make no apology for writing about it again, and in particular to express my thanks once again to the sponsors who so generously came on board and made its success possible. It has been an absolute privilege to chair that committee and I know we have only dipped our toe in the water. We had thought that we would get maybe a handful of applications for assistance, but how wrong we were. Our sponsors made it possible for us to approve grants of between €1,000 and €5,000 to 11 projects this year and I am delighted that there is now a firm commitment from the Chamber itself to provide ongoing funding under this initiative.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues on the Chamber Council for their unstinting support over the past year and to thank Anthony and his team for their hard work and consistently good humour in such trying times.

Andrea Molloy

President