- Limerick Chamber calls for significant response to Regional Challenges in Budget 2023
- Lack of affordable housing highlighted as key issue
- Limerick Chamber launches Budget 2023 campaign
Wednesday 7th September 2022: Limerick Chamber, the largest business representative body in the Mid-West, has said urgent action is required to support regional businesses, many still reeling from Brexit and pandemic impacts and now hit with the increasing cost of doing business.
Speaking at the launch of their Submission for Budget 2023, Limerick Chamber Chief Executive, Dee Ryan, said
“Affordable housing, talent and energy are the burning issues that our members are talking to us about, each one feeding into upward pressure on wages and contributing to the increasing cost of doing business across the region.
Without adequate response from Government targeted into vulnerable households and vulnerable businesses, we face potential closures and job losses in 2023. This in turn will have an impact on our town and city centres with consumer facing businesses taking the brunt of the decline in consumer confidence.’
Commenting on the submission, Limerick Chamber Chief Economist, Seán Golden, said
“Lack of affordable housing has featured heavily in consultations with businesses. We are experiencing an acute shortage of affordable homes for purchase and rent with just 61 homes available at an average cost of €1,600 per month, on the rental market in the whole of Limerick in August. There were 57 Residential Homes across the whole county of Clare with an average cost of €1,200. In Tipperary there were 55 residential homes available across the whole county of Tipperary at an average cost of €1,100.
Paradoxically, vacancy and dereliction are not uncommon across the country in towns and cities, undermining efforts at vibrancy being made by community groups and businesses.
In our submission we highlight the potential benefits for Limerick city and county towns of a review of the Living Cities Initiative, with a loosening of eligibility for the scheme making it more accessible for would be homeowners. In conjunction with this, Government must bring forward plans for strategic vacant and derelict sites in cities and towns
“The challenge for Government in Budget 2023 is to balance doing enough to address the current cost of living and cost of doing business crisis, whilst also putting a focus on long-term challenges that face our country. In addition to housing, we must become much more ambitious in our aims for the renewable energy sector. Limerick and the Mid-West has an enormous role to play in helping the EU decarbonise through floating offshore wind from the Shannon Estuary and we are calling for increased focus at Government on realising this opportunity.”
For further information and to read the submission in full visit https://bit.ly/3Q7VdJK
About Limerick Chamber:
Limerick Chamber is the largest business representative organisation in the Mid-West, with circa 400 member organisations across Limerick, Clare and Tipperary supporting approx. 50,000 jobs.
We are a mixed sector organisation and are uniquely focused on working for the best possible operating environment for all our members in the Mid-West.
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