Think big, be brave and be positive says Fiona
NEW Sligo Chamber President Fiona Candon says so much can be achieved with vision, courage, bravery and determination.
She was speaking after she took over the role from Des Faul and said everyone had a role to play in growing Sligo, to create employment opportunities and improve social and community well-being.
“So when we talk about investing in our people, infrastructure, tourism, education, and the arts we are not just reeling out the same mantra over and over again, we are, all of us together having the courage to think big.
“My vision for the year is think big, be brave, be positive no matter where I speak I have, at the tip of my tongue, everything that is so wonderful about this fantastic county,” she said.
Fiona takes over a week after Sligo achieved designation as a regional centre in the Government’s Project Ireland 2040.
Referring to this, she said: “After a very, very long time we have achieved the status Sligo deserves. But now together, we must ensure delivery.”
She stated: “Minister Eoghan Murphy referred last Friday to Project Ireland 2040 as a vehicle to empower choice.
“Just like any of you in business I really do want to have choices around sustainability and growth.
“I want my children to have a choice, a choice about where they work, how they work, where they go to college, where they set up a business. All of us want this.
“We will continue to work on ensuring that clear time bound regional targets across all programmes under the Project Ireland 2040 are agreed and funded properly particularly in the shorter term for infrastructure.
“Road improvements from Sligo to Dublin is a huge priority for us and I will be supporting our Chamber Industrial Group in every way I can particularly through my recent appointment to the Board of Chambers Ireland, the largest lobby group in the country.
“If we are to achieve real regional balance then our region and Sligo has to grow at a faster rate than others. So, the announcements must become actions. They must happen much more quickly for us here than in other parts of the country, if we are to catch up.
“While pushing for this we need to highlight the fact that while the costs of major infrastructural decisions are clear and immediate; the benefits are not.
“Making a region more attractive to industry, providing a better quality of life for those who live here, less commuting, less people having to live in Dublin, more people sustaining services in our region and rural hinterlands, better regional hospitals and third level institutions are all benefits. These cannot remain on the peripheral of decision making; they must be brought into the core.”