Dear Chamber Member,

I hope you, your colleagues and families are keeping well. It has been a fast-paced start to the business year, and though not without its turbulence, there is a broadly positive and confident outlook.

It has been a pleasure to host our more usual schedule of early season events which included the Annual Dinner and Cork Company of the Year Awards. Our opportunities to connect and grow our networks are more highly valued than ever, and I look forward to meeting you and your wider teams at our various events through the year.

This week government announced the expansion of energy supports for business. This is a very necessary move by government and will allow a greater number of businesses to benefit from the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme. At our January meeting with Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney TD we discussed the slower than expected take-up rates of the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme – after which we shared our survey with you our members to gain a deeper understanding of the issues posing as a deterrent to applications. We found that 72% of respondents had not accessed TBESS, and of those, it was only 30% who hadn’t qualified, which tells us that there were other factors impeding use of the scheme. The research pointed to the main deterrents being lack of awareness and the complexity of the application process. Considering all this, the revision of the qualifying criteria from a 50% increase in electricity or gas costs to 30% increase, the increase of financial relief, the extension of the scheme by a further 3 months and the introduction of a new grant for LPG or kerosene users are welcomes moves to broaden the reach of the energy supports for business.

It is positive that government have also extended the 9% VAT rate for hospitality businesses through to September 2023. Our hospitality industry, which is so highly valuable to our economy and communities needs certainty and we will continue to urge government that earlier announcements would allow for greater certainty and planning by those business most in need.

Entering into March means we are embarking on the season for international engagements which open up opportunities for Cork Chamber to promote Cork business, investment and tourism as we attend events in New York, Boston, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington DC. As part of this programme of activities we will join the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, Claire D.Cronin, as she leads a delegation of Irish companies to Washington D.C. from May 1-4 to attend the SelectUSA Summit. If you are looking to expand into the US or grow their business there, I urge you to explore our upcoming webinar which will share details on the summit and help to identify its potential value to you <HERE>.

We are continuing to work closely with Cork City Council on delivering its 2030 Climate Neutral Mission that is so important to the future of the city region and we are a key partner in Accenture's Net Zero Cities Sprint. We hope to see real progress on both in the very near future.

And on some news within Cork Chamber, we have recently been awarded an Investors in Diversity Bronze Award which is great recognition that the Chamber team has built a strong foundation to embed Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) across our operations and ensuring we are equipped for the journey of becoming more equitable and inclusive as we work towards our silver and gold level awards. This is one of the many initiatives we are undertaking in-house as part of our ESG programme of activities and we will share more of our journey through the year.

We will continue to lobby on your behalf on these and other issues affecting our business community, and I welcome you to contact me directly on 087 9471858 or by e-mail HERE. We are here to represent you.

Yours Sincerely,

Conor Healy

CEO