We Must Act On Matters Within Our Control
Kildare Chamber call for Increased Infrastructure Investment
County Kildare Chamber today called for Budget 2018 to address the concerns of business through committing to significant additional investment in capital projects across the country. The Chamber will launch its pre-budget manifesto next month after extensive dialogue with its membership.
This afternoon (Tuesday 4th July) Allan Shine, CEO of the Chamber said, “This year, County Kildare Chamber will be strongly calling for increased levels of investment to ensure that Kildare can meet both the needs of a growing economy and population, as well as the challenges emerging from Brexit.
The message received from businesses across our Chamber membership is loud and clear; this government must invest in infrastructure to meet the demands of a modern economy, to enable business to grow and thrive and to improve the quality of life for our citizens. In order to rectify existing infrastructural deficits and in order to compete internationally Ireland must increase the level of investment in infrastructure to at least 4% of GDP. Through significantly increasing investment in key transport, broadband, housing and water projects across Kildare and Ireland, Government can ensure that the economy is resilient to potential economic shocks. Within Kildare, our population continues to increase and demand for further investment is very evident.
Brexit will undoubtedly create many challenges for the Irish economy and while it is not possible to fully Brexit-proof a Budget, Government can and should focus on strengthening the domestic economy and competitiveness to ensure that we are prepared for whatever the final outcome of Brexit negotiations may be. Our Pre-Budget 2018 Submission will call on Government to increase investment in areas that can help mitigate Brexit challenges, in particular
- Invest in our ports and ports access through improvements to our road network
- Protect the tourism sector by maintaining the 9% VAT rate
- Assist SME exporters through implementing an Export Working Capital Scheme
- Ensure that state agencies and our overseas networks are adequately resourced.”