Business
Outgoing IDA chief will address Galway Chamber business lunch
Departing IDA chief executive Barry O’Leary is the guest special at the Galway Chamber Summer Business Lunch today (Thursday) in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Galway at 12.30 pm.
The role of IDA is key to balanced regional development and President of Galway Chamber Frank Greene has referred in the media to the figures of Foreign Direct Investment in the West vis a vis Dublin or Cork as ‘stark’ and he believes that there should be more of a weighting at government level towards the ‘disadvantaged’ West and North West.
The retiring IDA CEO Barry O’Leary has been deeply involved in changing the profile and raising the value of Ireland’s inward investments over the past ten years focusing on building capability in strategic sectors such as lifesciences and information and communications technology.
Prior to his appointment to the role of CEO IDA in 2008, Barry O’Leary was Divisional Manager of the IDA’s LifeSciences and Information and Communications Technology business units. He has worked in IDA for over 30 years in most of its business areas including two periods, 1983-1991 and 1995-2002 in Germany, latterly as Director of Europe.
On his return to Germany in 1995 he was responsible for running IDA’s offices in Stuttgart and Düsseldorf which covered Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. He subsequently became Director of Europe and centralised IDA’s German offices into Frankfurt. During this period he was closely associated with winning major projects from companies such as Bertelsmann, SAP, Deutsche Bank, Lufthansa, Kostal, Allianz and a number of key Italian financial services Institutions.
On his return to Ireland in late 2002 Mr. O’Leary was initially appointed Divisional Manager Pharmaceuticals and Biopharmaceuticals and a member of the IDA’s Executive Committee. His responsibilities were increased in 2004 to include the LifeSciences and Information and Communications Technology areas.
Under his leadership in 2010, IDA launched its strategy blueprint, Horizon 2020. The strategy document articulates how IDA will attract the next wave of sophisticated FDI over the coming decade. It highlights the importance of global mega-trends, economic geopolitical changes and technology roadmaps which will influence where IDA can capitalise on the opportunities that they present.
To attend the Galway Chamber Summer Business Lunch, contact Elaine Murphy on 091 563536 or email Elaine@galwaychamber.com
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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