Chamber Life

The past few months have been exceptionally busy for the Chamber as in-person events of all kinds have returned in earnest. With a hectic schedule of conferences, dinners, workshops, webinars, and political engagements, we’ve been out and about since we last spoke to you all.

Economy Minister Gordon Lyons MLA with Chamber President Dawn McLaughlin, Chamber Vice President Aidan O’Kane, and Selina Horshi, White Horse Hotel

As the autumn winds down and we look towards the final few weeks of 2021, it’s been another full-on period for the Chamber and the North West. Pandemic restrictions are all but gone, Foyle has two new MLAs, Derry once again proved why it’s the best place in the world to celebrate Halloween, and we’ve seen the roll out of the High Street Voucher Scheme.

We kicked off our busy period by welcoming the newly appointed Economy Minister Gordon Lyons to the North West on 5 August. Minister Lyons met with a Chamber delegation and discussed a range of important issues including the ongoing impact of the pandemic on local businesses, the Executive’s plans for economic recovery post-lockdown, and the Department for the Economy’s High Street Stimulus Scheme.

A day later, we welcomed the new Special Envoy to the United States on Northern Ireland Trevor Ringland MBE on his first official visit to the North West. Accompanied by Chamber CEO Paul Clancy and President Dawn McLaughlin, the visit was to provide Mr Ringland with a greater understanding of the North West City Region and to see and hear first-hand the North West’s potential as a prime location for US foreign direct investment.

Chamber CEO Paul Clancy and UUP Leader Doug Beattie MLA

We then met with UUP Leader Doug Beattie MLA and local Councillor Ryan McCready on 25 August. This was our first meeting with the two elected representatives, and we welcomed the engagement and their thoughts on everything from tourism to infrastructure.

The next day, Sinn Féin President Mary-Lou McDonald T.D. stopped in at the Chamber as she visited the North West for a series of engagements. We discussed a series of issues including business recovery from the pandemic, our ambitions for our city and region, and tax relief for cross-border workers.

On 10 September, Manager of the Global Future Council on Cities of Tomorrow at the World Economic Forum, Alice Charles, joined Chamber members and City stakeholders to discuss urban development, renewal, and a post-conflict future for our own city and region.

We hosted a cross border customs clearance webinar in association with our members Conall Dunne and Claire McEldowney from Easy Customs and our colleagues in the Letterkenny Chamber on 21 September. Conall and Claire from Easy Customs, an independent and specialist customs clearance agency based in the North West, took attendees through how to operate and trade on a cross border basis.

Chamber Vice President Aidan O’Kane, Sinn Féin President Mary-Lou McDonald T.D., Chamber President Dawn McLaughlin, and Chamber CEO Paul Clancy

Members of the Friends of the North West group at the Succeed North West event in the Merchant Hotel, Belfast Finance Minister Conor Murphy MLA and Chamber CEO Paul Clancy

On 23 September, we held a great breakfast seminar on tax and social security implications for cross-border workers and employers in partnership with EURES. This was a useful and timely event which gave attendees valuable information on everything from redundancy payments and pension lump sums to tax relief on pension contributions and social insurance benefits.

The next instalment of our Growth North West series took place on 28 September. Maximising Social Media was our fourth session in the series, with Declan Murtagh from Brilliant Red taking delegates through the latest trends and techniques in social media and best practice methods for engaging and growing a social media audience to effectively drive sales.

Our flagship event of the year, the 63rd President’s Annual Dinner, was held in the Everglades Hotel on 8 October. Our first dinner in nearly two years, we welcomed over 250 guests to celebrate with us after the challenges of the past 18 months. Full coverage of the event can be found on pages 24 and 25.

Danske Bank’s Chief Economist Conor Lambe took Chamber members through a Northern Ireland economy update on 12 October. Conor outlined Danske’s forecasts and predictions for local economic growth and which trends to keep an eye on over the coming months. A few days later, we collaborated with our partners at Ulster University and Derry City and Strabane District Council to deliver our Innovation for Growth webinar. Attendees heard from former MD of O’Neills Kieran Kennedy on his experiences of putting innovation into practice in a business setting.

A Chamber delegation then met with the two newly appointed MLAs for Foyle from Sinn Féin on 22 October. Pádraig Delargy and Ciara Ferguson were selected to replace Martina Anderson and Karen Mullan in September, and this was a very welcome opportunity to hear their vision and plans for the North West as they got settled into their roles.

The penultimate session of Growth North West took place on 26 October. Perfecting Your Pitch was hosted by communications expert Una McSorley and gave delegates the key techniques you need when preparing and structuring an impactful pitch and how to effectively deliver it.

Finance Minister Conor Murphy MLA visited the City Hotel Derry on 2 November to outline the impact of the Chancellor’s Budget and Spending Review on the Northern Irish economy. Guests heard from the Minister as well as senior departmental officials and learned how the new three-year budgeting process will work in Northern Ireland. We travelled to the Merchant Hotel in Belfast on 3 November with the Succeed North West group. This was an event hosted in partnership with Invest NI, Derry City and Strabane District Council, North West Regional College, Ulster University, the Western Health and Social Care Trust, Allstate NI, and FinTrU, and which welcomed 100 guests to hear about the strengths of the North West and why businesses should look to invest in, create jobs, and establish a base in our region.

And finally, our North West Energy Conference took place on 11 November. Sponsored by Anderson McQue, delegates heard from Thomas Byrne, Director of Energy Strategy at the Department for the Economy on their new Energy Strategy for Northern Ireland, as well as representatives from SONI, RiverRidge, North West Regional College, and Derry City and Strabane District Council.

Upcoming events and dates for your diary:

EURES employers’ incentives webinar - 7 December ’21 AGM and Christmas Drinks – 9 December ‘21 Meet the Chamber – 20 January ‘22 Speed Networking (North) – 17 February ‘22 President’s Annual Lunch – 3 March ‘22 Speed Networking (Strabane) – 24 May ‘22 President’s Annual Dinner – 7 October ‘22