Chambers Ireland Weekly Digest: 25th September
- Chambers Ireland Welcomes Passage of the Mediation Bill 2017
Chambers Ireland today (27 September 2017) welcomed the announcement by Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan TD last night of the passage of the Mediation Bill (2017) through the Houses of the Oireachtas.
Speaking this morning, Chambers Ireland Chief Executive, Ian Talbot said, “The announcement by Minister Flanagan that the Mediation Bill has passed all stages through the Oireachtas is welcome news for the business community. Research and best practice has shown that mediation, when used to resolve business disputes, helps preserve business relationships, encourages dialogue between disputing parties, and most importantly helps to resolve disputes in an efficient and cost effective way.”
“Chambers Ireland has called for the enactment of this legislation since the General Scheme for the Bill was first published in 2012. Commercial dispute resolution is more cost effective for business, reduces backlogs of cases in the courts and improves relationships. More efficient and effective dispute resolution will also ensure that Ireland is a more competitive place to do business.”
- Chambers Ireland European Economic Survey 2018
Chambers Ireland, in conjunction with Eurochambres, has launched the European Economic Survey for 2018. This is the 25th edition of this annual Eurochambres assessment of the European business community’s expectations for the year ahead. The target audience of this survey is businesses and chamber members all around the country
The survey will be open for a few more weeks so we encourage all Chambers to share widely with members.
The results of this survey will be used to help us to identify the main challenges for business in the coming year. This survey should take no more than 3-5 minutes to complete and the deadline for completion is the 29th September 2017. Questions marked with an asterisk (*) are required. If you have any questions about the survey, please email Chambers Ireland at emma.kerins@chambers.ie
Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZD5GN5G
- DBEI – Taking Care of Business Event
A free one-stop-shop event for SMEs, ‘Taking Care of Business’, will take place on Wednesday November 8 in the Printworks Conference Centre in Dublin Castle; this half-day event is for those who own or manage a small business or are thinking of starting a new business.
A range of State offices and agencies will give short presentations and will have staff on hand at exhibition stands to answer questions about key regulations and what assistance is available to your business. Areas covered will include:
- Tax, employment and Health & Safety obligations
- Legal requirements for setting up and running your business
- Supports from enterprise agencies and Local Authorities
The half-day event will be opened by Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation Frances Fitzgerald TD and also addressed by Minister of State for Trade, Employment and Business, Pat Breen TD. Information stands will be open throughout, allowing you to speak informally with staff from each of the bodies attending. There will be three sets of presentations chaired by: Mary Rose Burke, CEO of Dublin Chamber; Linda Barry, Assistant Director of the Small Firms Association; and Dr Donal de Buitléir, Director of Public Policy.ie
To find out more about this unique event and to register, please visit www.takingcareofbusiness.ie. Attendance is free but early booking is strongly advised as numbers are limited.
Visit – http://www.takingcareofbusiness.ie/
- GPP4Growth Stakeholder Event – Portlaoise, October 2017
Department of Communications, Climate Action & Environment have organised a second GPP4Growth Stakeholder Event for Thursday 12th of October from 9am to 2.30pm including lunch. The workshop will take place in the Midlands Park Hotel (formerly Portlaoise Heritage Hotel).
This event will look at barriers to Green Public Procurement in Ireland at national and local level, and will aim to identify the key actions that could help drive an increase in GPP.
Booking for this free event is now open at https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/gpp4g-workshop-1-tickets-37417149702 and the password is DCCAE2017.
Attendees who wish to stay at the hotel the night before can avail of a reduced rate using the discount code DCCAE when booking through www.midlandsparkhotel.com.
- Europe Direct Network – The EU Investment Plan: What’s in it for You?
Find out more at a Panel Debate this September. Representatives from the Chamber Network will participate in panel discussion in libraries across the country throughout September. See attached flyer for more information.
The Panel:
- Professor John O’Brennan, John Monnet Professor of European Integration at Maynooth University
- Dr. Mary Murphy, Senior Lecturer, Department of Government, University College Cork
- Representative from Local Chamber of Commerce / Chambers Ireland
o Emma Kerins, International Affairs Executive, Chambers Ireland.
o Andrea Carroll, South Dublin Chamber Representative
Upcoming Dates:
26 September, Blanchardstown Library at 7.00pm
27 September, Boxworks, Waterford, at 6.00pm
28 September, Building Block, Bridge Street, Sligo at 7.00pm
- New ‘Get Brexit Ready’ Programme to Enable Tourism Sector to Sustain Growth
Fáilte Ireland have recently unveiled ‘Get Brexit Ready’, a suite of industry supports designed to help businesses at risk or already struggling with the loss of trade created by Brexit. The programme allows individual businesses to self-assess their exposures and risks and provides a range of interventions to match their needs.
Underlining the necessity for the programme Fáilte Ireland estimates that, by the end of the year, Brexit will mean 300,000 less British trips here which, taken in isolation, would represent €88m in revenue and an estimated 1,900 tourism jobs lost had the fall in British numbers not been compensated by a strong performance in other markets.
Fáilte Ireland CEO Paul Kelly pointed to the volatility generated by Brexit during the last year stressing that it would have led to significant revenue and job losses had our other traditional markets, particularly the US, not performed so well. He also emphasised that we, as a tourism industry, cannot always assume that other markets will continue to compensate in this fashion – particularly as we now face a challenge in those markets from a British tourism product made much more competitive by the lower Sterling value.
So, while the ongoing Brexit volatility underlines the extent to which tourism can be at the mercy of external factors beyond our control, we can meet our current challenges by working on those things which remain within our control – our visitor experiences, competitiveness, capacity and skills and this essential Brexit Recovery Programme is designed to support tourism businesses to achieve this in an innovative and accessible manner.
The programme launch was accompanied by the unveiling of a dedicated ‘Get Brexit Ready’ web presence which will be the Fáilte Ireland one-stop shop for all the relevant information and insights that businesses will need – from development supports and training programmes to insights and market intelligence. The web portal will also include ‘Brexit-check’ – an online tool whereby an individual business can input their own data to determine how Brexit ready they are – as well as links to a series of market insights, tips and research to help tourism operators to recalibrate their businesses appropriately to navigate through Brexit related uncertainty in Britain and other markets.
Find out more about the new programme, and access the latest supports, insights and tools at www.failteireland.ie/GetBrexitReady
- ICCUSA’s 29th Annual American Celtic Ball
The 29th Annual American Celtic Ball will take place in Friday, October 6th, 2017 at the Plaza Hotel New York City.
This year, the Sir Michael Smurfit Business Achievement Awards will be presented to Mr. Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, Mr. Sean Mulryan, Chairman and Group Chief Executive of Ballymore Group and Mr. John A. Canning, Jr., Founder and Chairman of Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC.
The Albert Schweitzer Leadership for Life Award will be presented to the Co-Founders of Operation Smile, Dr. William P. Magee, Jr. and Mrs. Kathleen S. Magee.
Please find attached flyer with all the relevant details.
- EIT call for expressions of interest for Governing Board
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology recently launched a Call for expressions of interest for the selection of five members of the EIT Governing Board. The EIT Governing Board is entrusted with providing the strategic leadership of the EIT. The board is independent and autonomous in its decision-making and is responsible for the selection, designation and evaluation of the EIT’s Innovation Communities.
For more information on the Call for expressions and application process please visit our website: https://eit.europa.eu/newsroom/call-expressions-interest-eit-governing-board-2017
- Transparency International Integrity at Work Conference, September 2017 (Chamber Member Discount)
Join Transparency International Ireland for the inaugural Integrity at Work Conference on Thursday, 28th September at the Radison Blu Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin 8 from 8.30am to 5.00pm.
The Conference brings together employers, legal practitioners, academics and civil society to discuss how to foster a culture of integrity within the Irish workplace.
Morning Parallel Workshops: Through a series of parallel workshops, attendees will be presented with a unique opportunity to pose questions, learn from their peers and share experiences on issues such as whistleblowing legislation, procedures and the most effective ways to help staff to speak up safely. The workshops will take place from 11.45am – 13.00pm.
- Cathy James, OBE – Chief Executive, Public Concern at Work.
- Susheela Math – Managing Solicitor, Transparency Legal Advice Centre.
- Michelle Ní Longáin – Partner, ByrneWallace.
- Lauren Kierans, BL – Founder, Irish Whistleblowing Law Society.
Workshop 2 – Meeting your obligations: How to write a whistleblowing policy and procedure
- Dr Kate Kenny – Professor in Management, Queen’s University Belfast.
- Anna Myers – Director, Whistleblowers International Network.
- John Devitt – Chief Executive, Transparency International Ireland.
- Wendy Addison – Founder and CEO, SpeakOut SpeakUp Ltd.
Workshop 3 – Taking Action: What to do when your staff speak up?
- Philip Brennan – Founder and Managing Director, Raiseaconcern.
- Prof Niamh Brennan – Michael MacCormac, Professor of Management, UCD.
- Emmet Whelan – Partner, ByrneWallace.
- Niall Fitzgerald – Head of Ethics and Governance, Chartered Accountants Ireland.
- Lucas Kruettli – Attorney at Law, Roche Pharamceuticals
Full details on our speaker lineup are available here.
Chambers Ireland Members can avail of a 10% discount on conference tickets by quoting CHAMBERSIAW. Click here to book