| County Wexford Chamber, the voice of business in County Wexford, largely welcomes the government’s plan for Budget 2023 as outlined in the Summer Economic Statement, but expresses some concerns about the focus.
Speaking after the launch of the statement, Acting Chief Executive Emma Dunphy, said:-
“The strong emphasis on infrastructure in the Summer Economic Statement is welcome, many of the difficulties that employers and workers are experiencing have arisen as a result of insufficient and inconsistent investment across many policy areas. Our members see housing, energy and talent as being the biggest challenges for their businesses.
Skilled staff are hard to find, while uncertainties regarding energy security and energy costs are greatly affecting businesses. In regional areas uncertainties are also affecting consumer confidence, leading people to save discretionary spending.
Government should be taking a longer view and ensure that the above profile receipts from excise duties and corporation taxes are ringfenced in a climate action fund that can be used to finance much needed infrastructure through what could be still more difficult years ahead.
Businesses should be taking a longer view too and investing in energy saving measures which will help them reduce the operating costs of their businesses. Minister Donohoe has said that we are in a ‘shock-prone’ world, and he is right, for businesses that have traded through the last 15 years, at least 12 of them have involved significant economic shocks.
Businesses that are going to thrive are making investments that are making their operations more resilient to shocks, and we see no reason to believe that fossil fuel energy cost will be seeing a positive shock in the coming years.”
Summer Economic Statement 2022 |
