Chamber welcomes the Budget but says that key issues yet to be tackled
Sligo Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the government’s commitment to supporting businesses throughout the Covid-19 pandemic but feels it has more work to do to bring investment to the region and free up land for essential housing.
That was the view of Chamber CEO Aidan Doyle speaking after the Budget announcements on Tuesday by Ministers Paschal Donohoe and Michael McGrath. He welcomed much of what was in the budget but said “key issues of town centres and vacancies has yet to be tackled”. Mr Doyle said that business supports had secured jobs, prevented permanent closures and provided an opportunity for the country to recover more quickly than anticipated and the economy was in a strong position when it comes to taking advantage of the global rebound in growth. He welcomed the extension of supports for business into 2022 but argued that the minister should retain discretion over the pace of the tapering of these supports and avoid the issue which arose with the closure of the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme in 2020.
In regard to remote working, Mr Doyle said Sligo Chamber was committed to “flexible and inclusive workplaces and welcomes the Government’s focus on remote working by allowing individuals to claim up to 30% of household bills on days they work from home”.
“We believe that remote work has an important role to play in creating a more sustainable location for Sligo and the region by not limiting work to geography. A national flexible working policy would strengthen this. It would also help to address skills shortages by providing a wider talent pool for employers.” On housing and vacant land, the Chamber CEO said: “The increase in spending on housing is a start when it comes to reducing the effect of the housing crisis. However, success here will not be measured in spending, it will be measured in the number of new homes that come to market.
“We were disappointed by the 3% zoned land levy. It is pitched at a level which will raise revenue for the exchequer, while at the same time it is not high enough to incentivise the return of hoarded land to the open market.
“The price of land is the easiest part of the cost of housing equation for the government to influence and they have chosen not to do that in this budget. By treating it as a potential revenue stream, they create the problem where government policy is incentivised to support high land values.”
Mr Doyle said that Sligo and the region needed to be seen as “the key drivers of our domestic local economy”.
“We need investment if we are to become the attractive places to live and work. This will need more vision if it is to happen.” Mr Doyle said the extension of the 9% VAT rate beyond December 2021 will be important to the tourism and hospitality sector in the coming year. However, we are uncertain that the sector will be able to maintain current levels of activity through Q1 2022 given that international tourism options are becoming available to Irish people again. The sector will then become more reliant on inward tourism across 2022 and it is yet to be established that the travel routes from abroad will have reopened to the extent required if the sector is to maintain a high level of activity.”
He said that support for the aviation sector in Budget 2022 is very welcome and he also welcomed the increased allocation for arts and culture.