Waterford Chamber engages with Secretary Generals ahead of election

With local and European elections right around the corner and the potential of a General Election towards the end of the year, Waterford Chamber said now is the time to "hammer home" lobbying agendas.

The organisation is in regular contact with senior Ministers and Oireachtas members, putting forward ideas and solutions to deliver for Waterford and the wider region. However, a spokesperson for the organisation told Waterford News & Star that over the last month the Chamber increased ita lobbying efforts and invited several Department Secretary Generals to Waterford to meet with business community representatives.

"Housing is always a top ticket item, so we were delighted when Waterford native Graham Doyle kicked off our Political Lunch Series and acknowledged the challenges and opportunities across the city and county," said the spokesperson.

The Chamber also hosted David Moloney, from the Department of Public Expenditure and John Hogan, from the Department of Finance. During the meeting the CEO of Waterford Chamber, Gerald Hurley, outlined the current economic climate and the opportunities for development going forward, while Michael Quinn, from Waterford City & County Council, gave an overview of the North Quays Project. 

The CEO of the Port of Waterford, David Sinnott, outlined ambitious plans and the need for funding the move is made towards developing the Waterford City region as a centre for excellence in energy.

Other topics discussed included the cost of doing business, using part of the National Training Fund surplus to support parents of neurodiverse children and the importance of equitable funding for SETU.

Declan Hughes, from the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment, was also given an overview of the economic climate in Waterford with Georgina Carpendale, of Fitzgerald Power, presenting on the cost of doing business, drawing from a white paper document produced by the Waterford-based accountancy firm.

Lynda Lawton, from Waterford Chamber, spoke on the work being done in partnership with Autism Friendly Waterford, Waterford Area Partnership and other stakeholders, in creating an inclusive working environment for the neurodiverse community.

The series concluded with a meeting with Ken Spratt, from the Department of Transport, during which topics such as Waterford Airport, the Port of Waterford, the N24, city centre traffic management, and public transport were discussed.

Commenting after the meetings, Gerald Hurley, CEO Waterford Chamber said: “Department Secretary Generals are key influencers in terms of policy and decision making."

 They were very keen to engage, certainly took points on board and argued back where necessary. Further correspondence with each of our guests post the meetings showed they now having a deeper understanding of the ambitions in Waterford and we look forward to strengthening those relationships. A new Government may be ahead of us, but there is a lot can be done in the interim, and thanks to our members who attended the meetings, the Waterford agenda is now very much to the fore in each of these Departments.”