Business
Fall-off in export figures should put a dampener on Government expectations of early recovery
The country’s latest export figures should sound a warning note for those who believe we have turned the corner, according to rebel Galway East TD Colm Keaveney.
CSO figures showed that goods exports up to March had fallen for the fifth month in a row on a year on year basis – leaving them at their lowest levels since 2009.
And the former Labour Deputy said that this should be ‘a serious cause of concern’ given that the Government’s own growth expectations had already fallen so far short of target.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, goods exports over the first quarter of the year were down €2,173m, or 9.3% from 2012.
Industrial production and turnover figures, released by the CSO on May 3, show that both indexes had seen falls to leave them at their lowest for the last three years.
” The Government has targeted growth of 1.8% in GDP for this year and budgetary outturn is dependent on that level of growth being achieved. If the trend in exports for the first quarter is repeated in subsequent quarters, it is difficult to see how that figure can be achieved,” he said.
And he called on the Government to be ‘honest with the Irish people and to tell the truth about the condition of the economy’.
“Simply declaring, as many Ministers have done, that we are on the road to recovery, does not make it so. There have been many voices, including my own, that have tried to warn the Government that their current economic policies were likely to inflict damage on our medium term economic prospects.
“While in the short term the current economic policy has seen some success in reducing the deficit they were, in effect, based on a gamble that our exports would lift us out of our current difficulties: we are now seeing a significant fall in our goods exports.
“The domestic economy was effectively abandoned with the spending power of low and middle incomes being weakened by the various Government measures over the last numbers of years, not the least of which were the ones contained in the last budget.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
The new President of Local Ireland, the association representing local news publishers around the country, is Head of Irish Times Regionals Dan Linehan.
Mr Linehan takes over the presidency from Declan McGuire of the Connacht Tribune. His appointment was confirmed at the recent Annual General Meeting of Local Ireland at Bloomfield House Hotel near Mullingar, Westmeath.
Mr Linehan, who has served as Vice President of the organisation for the last two years, said: “The coming years are a very important time for local publishers with many important issues to be addressed, including the implementation of the Future of Media Commission recommendations, defamation reform, the role and support for local publishers in public service reporting and helping publishers develop commercial digital offerings.”
Speaking at the AGM, Mr McGuire acknowledged the work done by the Executive in the past two years under the direction of Executive Director, Bob Hughes, on several projects related to the publishing industry but most especially the successful conclusion of the long-running campaign for the abolition of VAT on newspapers.
He also wished Mr Linehan the very best in his new role as President of the association for the next two years.
Mr Hughes thanked Mr McGuire for his leadership and support during his term of office and said he looked forward to working with Mr Linehan on the key policy priorities for the association, including Government supports, Government advertising, fair remuneration for content from the tech platforms and the reform of the legislation for defamation.
Local Ireland members also elected Seán Mahon, Managing Director of the Southern Star, as Vice President for the next two years.
The shortage of affordable housing is the single biggest impediment in attracting and retaining workers in the West, according to business group Ibec.
At a ‘Regional Insights Series’ meeting in the Galmont Hotel in Galway last week, employers were told that capacity constraints and labour supply are the key challenges facing business growth in the region.
Ibec Head of Regional Policy Helen Leahy said: “There must be greater focus by government on enhancing quality of life issues such as housing and infrastructure which are driving labour shortages in the region.
“Ibec’s vision for the West is to realise its potential to become a globally competitive location. An inadequate supply of affordable housing is now the single largest impediment to attracting and retaining talented workers, without whom business investment and expansions are not possible.
“Labour shortages are a real concern for businesses in the region. People decide where to live and work based on quality of life and access to high quality services and amenities. Industry tends to follow talent, and in this regard, the region needs to have all the building blocks in place as the attraction and retention of world-class talent becomes increasingly competitive on a global level,” said Ms Leahy.
Amongst Ibec’s priorities for the West are:
- Addressing housing and infrastructure challenges
- Transitioning towards a new growth model with Net Zero energy powered by Atlantic offshore wind resources
- Adapting businesses to the new economic realities
- Enhancing capacity and skillsets to achieve sustainable development objectives
- Investment in people and skills
- Creating competitive advantage through digitalisation
- Innovation as a key driver of productivity growth
One in five Galway businesses want to go fully cashless, as the move towards card payments and tapping continues unabated post-Covid.
In all, 22% of Galway businesses would like to be fully cashless, according to a survey carried out by BOI Payment Acceptance (BOIPA), a provider of payment technology solutions, which asked Irish businesses about the current payment landscape as well as business confidence and concerns.
Over one-third (36%) of Galway businesses were unaware there is no contactless limit on mobile wallets – just below the national average – while 54% believe the increase in card over cash transactions has helped them run their business.
Six out of ten Galway businesses expect to grow this year despite the cost-of-living crisis and running costs dominating as key concerns; 62% believe their business will grow over the next twelve months despite global economic uncertainty.
Unsurprisingly cost-of-living increases and running costs were the main concerns the majority of businesses had.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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