Dear Fellow Member,

LITTLEDID

IthinkwhenIsetuponmypresidentialjourneybackin2005thatwewereshortlytowitnessthemostdramaticeconomicupheavalofourlifetime.Companieshavesoughttoadaptswiftlytothenewbusinessenvironment,focusingoncuttingcosts,cash-flowmanagement,andbusinessreorganisation.TheChamberhassoughttohelpcompaniesadaptbyprovidingmoreopportunitiesforbusinessdevelopmentandbyfirmlyputtingtheenterpriseagendatotheGovernment.

Networking

AttendanceatChamberfunctionshasreachedrecordlevels,withover3,300attendancesatthe50orsoChambereventsheldsofarthisyear.Ifyouwanttomakethemostoftheseopportunitiesforpersonalandbusinessdevelopment,theChamberrunsregularfreecoursesonhowtoimproveyournetworkingskills.Thecalendarfortheremainderof2009hasevenmoreopportunitiesforyou.Thisyear’sAnnualDinnerinOctoberwillbeaddressedbyDenisO’BrienandbyMinisterBrianLenihanTD.InSeptember,theChamberisorganisingahalfdaydigitalmedianetworkingevent,entitled‘DigitalMediaasaProfitableBusinessTool’,whichwillbringtogetherleadingcompanies–includingGoogle,Facebook,BordGáisEnergy,IBMandAOLTechnologies–inthisnewmediachannel.

Network+Getwork

Ireland’srecoverywillbedrivenbyitsabilitytosellgoodsandservicesforexport.Membersareincreasinglyusingboththe‘Network+Getwork’andthe‘EnterpriseEuropeNetwork’programmestodevelopbusinessrelationshipsandknowledgeacrosstheislandof Irelandandinternationally.The‘meetthebuyer’eventsinthe‘Network+Getwork’havebeenparticularlysuccessfulforbusinessessellingorbuyingonanall-Irelandbasis.

GoingOnline

Membersexchangingbusinesscardsateventshasbeentheusualwaytodeveloptheircontacts,andnowtheChamber’suseoftheonlinebusinessnetwork,LinkedIn,issupplementingthisactivity.Over400of youhavejoinedtheChamber’sLinkedInGroupinthepastfewmonthsandyourconstantactivityonthesiteistremendous.Inadditiontoprovidinggreaterpersonaldetails,membersaresharingexpertise,insightandaccesstotheirwidercontactnetworkenablingyoutohaveanedgeoveryourcompetitors.Anumberofmemberonlyandtransactionalonlineserviceswillbelaunchedintheautumnaspartof ouronlinestrategy.

Influencing

BeforeItookofficeinFebruary,theChambersoughtyourinputonthetopinfluencingprioritiesfor2009.Yourprioritieswere‘reducingcosts’and‘managingcash-flow’,whileyouexpectedtheGovernmentto‘managepublicfinances’and‘stimulateconsumerconfidence’.TheTaoiseachrespondedtoourcallwitharousingspeechatourAGMdinner.WehavesoughttoholdtheTaoiseachandtheGovernmenttothesewords,tomakesurethattheyaretranslatedintoactionsthatwouldhelpyourbusiness,howevermuchremainstobedone.

ReducingCosts

TheChamberisrunninganintensiveandongoingcampaignthisyeartoreducebusinessratescosts,withelectedcouncillors,Mayorsandofficials.Businessesarereducingcostsacrosstheboardandlocalauthoritiesmustensuretheircontributiontothisnationalcompetitivenessdrive.EnergycostsinIrelandremainoneofthemostexpensiveinEurope,evenaftertheChamber’scampaigntoreducepricesyieldedatenpercentreductioninMarch.Therefore,thiscampaignwillcontinueuntilIrishpricesforenergyareinlinewithourEuropeancompetitors.

Cash-Flow

TheChamberhasalsosoughtandgainedfromGovernmentdepartmentsacommitmenttopayalltheirbillstosupplierswithin15daysoftheirinvoicing.Wehaveyettogainasimilarcommitmentfrom

DUBLIN BUSINESS

connecting|influencing

August 2009

DUBLINBUSINESS

influencin

g decisions...

Dublin Chamber of Commerce, 7 Clare Street, Dublin 2. Tel: (01) 644 7200; Fax: (01) 676 6043

(R-L) Dublin Chamber President, PJ Timmins, welcomes Minister for Finance,Brian Lenihan TD, and Simon Wainwright, CEO HSBC Ireland, to Chamber Dinner in Camera.

influencing decisions...

College Green Bus Corridor

Dublin City Council have put in place a bus corridor, which will limitthe area around College Green to buses, taxis and cyclists during therush hour period. Dublin Chamber successfully lobbied on yourbehalf to ensure that this was not a blanket ban. The bus corridoroperates between 7am and 10am, and 4pm and 7pm, Monday toFriday. The amended plan for a College Green Bus Corridor providesfaster and more reliable public transport, and will allow morecommuters to switch from their cars. Dublin Chamber will participatein a review of the programme by the Dublin City Council in six months.

Mayor for Dublin Coming Ahead of Schedule

Minister Gormley is bringing forward plans for a directly electedmayor for Dublin. In May of this year, the Minister announced that hewas bringing forward plans by a year with an election to be held in2010. In a briefing with Dublin Chamber, it was said that the Mayorwill have responsibility for establishing strategic policy in relation toland-use planning, waste management, water services, and housingacross the four major Dublin local authorities. The Mayor will also bechair of the Dublin Transport Authority. Dublin Chamber has longchampioned the need for better regional governance and a directlyelected mayor with real executive powers.

Commercial Rates Freeze – Step in the Right Direction

A concerted campaign by the Dublin Chamber brought the issue of uncompetitive commercial rate hikes by Dublin’s local councils tonewly elected Councillors. Commercial rates are the single biggestissue that local Councillors control. A survey of Dublin Chamber’smembers found that one in three businesses would look to offsetany increase in rates by reducing their labour costs further. This waspresented to newly elected Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr EmerCostello, and Mayor of Fingal, Ciaran Byrne. Dublin Chamber isengaging with councils to ensure that at a minimum business get afreeze in commercial rates, as guaranteed by some political partiesto Dublin Chamber.

Late Payments by Government

On 20 May, the Tánaiste announced that the Government hascommitted to paying all of its bills to suppliers within 15 days of their invoicing in a bid to help ease the cash flow crisis facing Irishbusinesses. This announcement follows Dublin Chamber’s meetingwith the Office of the Taoiseach in April; at this meeting theChamber shared a member survey of late payments byGovernment bodies. The 15-day payment rule came into force from15 June 2009.

DUBLINBUSINESS

Dublin Chamber of Commerce, 7 Clare Street, Dublin 2. Tel: (01) 644 7200; Fax: (01) 676 6043

other Government agencies to agree the same standards. TheChamber is now working to address these issues through theGovernment’s Credit Supply Clearing Group, ensuring that yourconcerns are addressed, particularly with regard to the issue of redundancy rebates.

Manage Public Finances

The Chamber has called on the Government to set a target of reducing total public spending to 34 per cent GDP in five years. Aplan to right size government is a critical step for a small openeconomy like Ireland to recover our competitive position in the globe.Since 2000, the Chamber has campaigned for leadership andconnected thinking across the Dublin Region through the creation of a directly elected Mayor for Dublin. Minister Gormley’s recentannouncement of a directly elected Mayor for Dublin by 2010, withreal executive powers, is a step toward greater efficiency,transparency and accountability.

Stimulate Consumer Confidence

At the start of this year, the Chamber called on the Government toset out a five year National Recovery Plan that indicates how theGovernment will create the environment where lost productivity willbe restored, competitiveness regained, and future growth in outputand employment sustained. Certainty on how the Government willrespond is essential for business and consumer confidence.The Chamber believes that it is essential that the Governmentcontinues to invest in Dublin’s infrastructure and transport systems.This will ensure that the Dublin City Region will be competitivelyplaced to attract investment when the business cycle turns positiveonce again.As the voice of Dublin business, the Chamber will continue to workon your behalf with national and local government and create a spacefor you to meet other businesses. I’d like to thank you all for yourexcellent contributions over the first half of this year. Whether it wasin responding to an online survey, which has enabled us to quantify toMinisters and their officials your views, or attending the Chamber’sgrowing networking event schedule, it is because of you that theDublin Chamber will have its biggest year ever. I’m looking forward toan even greater second half of the year and hope you will continuethe valuable support that you give to the Chamber.

Warmest Regards,PJ TimminsPresident

Members interested in any of the above Dublin Chamber campaigns should contact a member of the Dublin Chamber policy team -Aebhric McGibney, Policy Director (Aebhric@dublinchamber.ie); Patrick King (Patrick@dublinchamber.ie); or Catherine McCabe(Catherine@dublinchamber.ie).