'Growth must come through balanced regional development': Waterford Chamber of Commerce says at AGM
A new President of the Waterford Chamber of Commerce Kevin Doolin was elected at the AGM.
Waterford Chamber called for a renewed focus on balanced regional development at their AGM, which saw the election of a new President, Kevin Doolin.
In his final speech as Chamber President Niall Harrington said “in my own presidency, I started this terminology around levelling up. I kept it very simple in the hopes that people would engage with it and they did!”
He called for members of Waterford Chamber to support the work on the Port of Waterford and emphasised that “growth must come through balanced regional development” and said that “growth must be met with equal parts government investment.”
Mr Harrington called for investment into SETU, saying that the new veterinary medicine course would “hopefully [be] the first of many” investments into the university.
“All of the other regions have a traditional university, and they also have a technical university too,” he said, noting that technical universities such as SETU don’t have the right to seek their own investment where traditional universities may do so.
“For balanced regional growth, you need balanced regional development.”
Mr Harrington said that just 40% of Waterford students stay in the county for their education, with 60% studying in different counties, compared with a 60/40 ratio in favour of students staying, in other comparable regions.
In light of the imbalance, Harrington said, “It’s not about getting a level up, it’s about making a level playing ground.”
Reflecting on the year, Gerald Hurley, Chief Executive of Waterford Chamber, said the chamber had seen a 35% increase in membership and had made a “significant surplus” in the year ending December 2023.
He noted that the existing treasurer Ronan Brazil was leaving the role and thanked him for his work; Georgina Carpendale of Orbe Consulting will be taking up the role.
The chamber noted that it had made a profit of €41,297 for the previous financial year, 2023. The income of the chamber has risen to €563,100, more than doubling in the last eight years, since the chamber made €225k in 2015, the treasurer said.
