Dublin Chamber has called on the government to expedite delivery of key transport projects to support the economic recovery of the capital city.
At the chamber’s AGM dinner, chamber president Vincent Harrison, managing director of Dublin Airport, told attendees that MetroLink and the DART+ programme must be progressed without delay.
Harrison is the 133rd president of Dublin Chamber since its foundation in 1783.
In his address, Harrison declared that the office is not dead, though its role is changing.
“For the most part, the office will be about collaboration and interaction, not just sitting, working at a desk,” he said. “It’s about learning and innovating and finding the best way of putting heads together. Direct human connection is crucial to business, and our urban centres are as important to business life as they always were.”
In Association with
The new chamber president added that a new plan is needed to re-energise Dublin city centre.
“This year Dubliners are to be given the chance to consider how best the city should be run. From Dublin Chamber’s perspective, it’s about delegating the right power and responsibility for the job, whether that rests with a directly elected mayor or with a member of cabinet.
“If we cannot provide these powers at the county level, then why not a Minister for Dublin? We already have a Minister for Rural Affairs.”
On housing in the capital, Harrison said the city’s “dominant challenge” requires a holistic response.
“Time and time again, the question of vacant properties arises,” Harrison stated. “Dublin needs to avail of underutilised spaces in more effective and productive ways.
“The planning process needs to be reconfigured as an enabler rather than a mechanism for delay. Its objectives should be about finding a way to ensure that we can meet the needs of our citizens, deliver economic growth and the sustainability of indigenous and foreign direct investment.”
Harrison stressed that the country needs the economic and financial support of a successful Dublin, and much hinges on the delivery of vital infrastructure.
“There are transformative public transport projects in the pipeline, but we all know how long major infrastructure projects can take in Ireland. The pace of delivery will be key,” he stated.
“These deliverables, together with the integration of our proposal for a 15 minute city into local authority development plans, will underpin the future development of the city for decades to come and will enable a much-needed increase in the supply of housing in the region.”
Dublin Enterprise Plan
Harrison’s comments came as minister Leo Varadkar launched a new enterprise plan for the Dublin region.
The Dublin Regional Enterprise Plan is one nine regional plans outlined by government in recent months.
The regional plans leverage local authority funding from the Regional Enterprise Development Fund. For Dublin, the minister instanced the following projects with REDF funding:
Guinness Enterprise Centre €3.9m
Innovation Centre at Grand Canal Dock €2.5m
Social and Local Enterprise Alliance €1.4m
St. Paul's Area Development Enterprise €2.1m
LINC Collaboratory DAC €2.1m
