The Business of Energy
 

Dear Chamber Member,

 

I hope you, your colleagues and families are keeping well and have enjoyed the summer season.

 

The Chamber team have continued to deliver our events, training and export services, all the while advocating on matters that affect your business, your industry and our city region.

 

In recent times, businesses across our membership are telling us they are facing increases of four and five times in their normal energy bills which is just unprecedented and not something that they can just absorb and keep going. In our budget submission we outlined that inflation and competitiveness was a growing concern for our members and as we now reach the back end of the third quarter of this fiscal year, this issue has become even more acute. Government has to step in and make sure that energy costs can be kept at a level so that businesses can keep running this winter.

 

In addition to supports for SMEs, we also need to see supports for large employers who are in energy intensive industries. Germany has introduced €1.7 billion of tax breaks for 9,000 of its energy intensive businesses as well as a range of other measures to reduce the impact of energy price inflation.

 

There are real parallels with the onset of the Covid pandemic where the Government moved the dial to safeguard the health of our citizens while in parallel provided a range of Government supports to protect the business community. This too requires an equally robust response from Government given the increasing scale of the issue. There is a growing recognition in government of the need to act to not just support households but also businesses. Therefore it’s imperative a number of significant measures are introduced to support companies.

 

This energy crisis has also highlighted the need for Ireland to focus directly on energy security. The world has changed and our position on energy security needs to change to respond to that changed world. That includes increased storage and diversifying the sources of supply of fuels for our heating and power stations, including sources of gas.

 

It is clear that hydrogen will play a critical role in our energy security in the medium- to long-term. Yesterday's green hydrogen partnership agreement between EIH2, the Port of Cork and the Port of Amsterdam is a key step to building Cork's green energy export potential and our own energy security, and we will continue to support bilateral agreements like this. To realise this vision though, Government must provide support and a facilitative planning system.  

 

We will continue to lobby on your behalf and I welcome you to contact me directly on 087 9471858 or by e-mail HERE to discuss any issues affecting your business. We are here to represent you. In the meantime, I hope to see you at one of our many upcoming events, helping you to stay connected and informed.

 

Warm regards,

 

Conor Healy

CEO

 
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