Sligo Chamber CEO – May Blog
May was an interesting month for the Chamber at both a national and local level. At a national level, we saw the publication of “A Programme for A Partnership Government” which includes many references and indeed specific mention of the creation of an Atlantic Economic Corridor (AEC). The AEC is a concept of the western regional Chambers in which we have been intrinsically involved since the Taoiseach encouraged us to come together as a regional business community at our Annual Dinner in 2013. Representing 2,500 businesses employing over 75,000 people, the AEC is now on track to commence the shared delivery of its long term economic ambition for the Western Region of Ireland.
At a local level unfortunately we haven’t enjoyed as much success. We have been engaged with Sligo County Council, and others, for over two years now trying to develop a resourced structure to promote and develop tourism in County Sligo. The fact that the tourism industry in Sligo which is worth €100m annually continues to be managed in such a hap-hazard way is a source of great frustration to the Chamber and its members. We will continue to work on this but so far, it has been a very disappointing journey.
Our networking events are proving to be a great success following on from the visit to Ocean FM. This month we go to visit the White Hag brewery and in June we’ll visit AbbVie to see world leading technology being created on our doorsteps.
The Chamber Skillnet programme is going from strength to strength. From a slow start last September, we’re finding now that more and more of our members and beginning to realise how much that the SkillNet can offer, where in many cases the subsidy that we offer far exceeds the annual cost of Chamber membership.
We’re running our Annual Golf Classic in Castle Dargan on 10th June. This year, it’s being sponsored by Sligo Haulage and Distribution Ltd. Stephen Mullen has been hugely supportive of the Chamber and we greatly appreciate his support. In turn we would encourage our members to support Sligo Haulage and Distribution Ltd. The Golf Classic is one of our leading networking events. We’ll have loads of team prizes so please do try to come out and support it by entering a team or offering to sponsor a hole.
Finally, please take the time to get in touch with us. Outside of the many networking events, we’re always delighted to meet with our members and learn how we can help more. So get in touch with us at any stage, learn more of what we’re at and we will also learn from you. Together, we’ll continue to try to Help Sligo Grow.