Earlier this week, Chambers Ireland contributed to the public consultation by Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation on the recommendations in the UL report on Zero Hours Contracts (ZHCs)[i]. Media speculation on the morning of the deadline for submissions suggested that the Minister has already made the decision to bring certain recommendations to cabinet prior to assessing the input
Last week Chambers Ireland held a Forum with our Chamber Executives and five TDs from across the political spectrum to discuss priorities ahead of the next election. The forum provided for healthy debate with Derek Nolan (Labour), Lucinda Creighton (Renua), Áine Collins (Fine Gael), Dara Calleary (Fianna Fáil) and Peadar Toibín (Sinn Féin) all setting
On Saturday the 12th December, a deal to attempt to limit the rise in global temperatures to less than 2C was agreed at the COP21 climate change summit in Paris after two weeks of intense negotiations. The deal unites all the world’s nations in a single agreement on tackling climate change for the first time in history.
It is great to see the continued reduction in monthly unemployment figures released by the CSO today (3/11/2015). The month-on-month drop of 0.1% has led to a year-on-year drop of 1.3%. This further reduction in the unemployment rate to 9.3% is a welcome move in the right direction. Unemployment is now down 6% from its
Budget 2016 was widely praised for the measures which support enterprise and our business community. The reduction in the marginal tax rate, the introduction of a tax credit on earned income for the self employed and reductions in USC all gave welcomed hope for the future to many across the business community. One area that
Last week the 11th round of negotiations for the proposed EU-US trade deal, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), came to a close in Miami. Chief EU negotiator Ignacio Garcia Bercero stated that although substantial progress was made during this round of discussions, particularly regarding market access and tariffs, a lot more work needs to be
Budget Day has come and gone for another year and here in the Chambers Ireland office, we’ve broadly welcomed the Government’s commitment to support our entrepreneurs and businesses.At long last, we have a budget that recognises the role that entrepreneurs and small businesses play in driving economic growth. Two particularly welcome measures are the first
Earlier this month, we held our annual CSR Awards and as part of the event, I spoke about a topic that is becoming of ever increasing importance for our economy, our businesses and our local communities. That topic is sustainability. Ireland is now out of recession and once again we find ourselves as the fastest
Earlier today, President Jean Claude Juncker of the European Commission made his State of the European Union address to the European Parliament. This morning’s address was of heightened importance with the European Union in the midst of one of the most challenging and turbulent eras of its history. The refugee crisis, instability on our borders,
While assessments of the current economic situation deteriorated compared to last quarter, expectations remained positive. Although at a global level economic sentiment is relatively positive, there has been some concerning deterioration. While sentiment remains relatively high in Europe and the US, Ireland’s major trading partners, future expectations have diminished. The index has already dropped below
With a network of Chambers in every region across the country, we are keenly aware of the need for support to revive our town and village centres and create sustainable employment. The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation has just published Policy Options to Support Business Growth and Job Creation and Retention in
On Friday 13th February, we co-hosted a workshop with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Business and Human Rights. The workshop is part of an ongoing consultation by the Department as it drafts a National Plan on Business and Human Rights as required by the UN Guiding Principles. While the consultation has been