Ms Mary Rose Burke:

Our membership goes right from small businesses and start-ups through to the global multinationals, so it is the entire mosaic of the greater Dublin business community. Collectively, it is around infrastructure. The clear feedback from businesses is that as a small, open economy, we have no control over the shifting geopolitical tectonic plates that will have an impact on the Irish economy. However, what we do have control over is the investment in infrastructure and getting fit for the future. That is why we welcome the investments announced yesterday in line with the national development plan. It is around controlling what we can control. All of those aspects are a drag currently, based on a long-term deficit in infrastructure, so addressing that deficit will put us in good stead to deal with the next challenges as well as the current ones.

Regarding skills, we have talked about the new skills, like AI. It is not just structured, traditional training. It is very much on-the-job training and upskilling. This is particularly the case for smaller businesses, which need the skills right there at the time when they need them for the implementation of new systems and processes. Time away from the business is a cost that not all businesses can deal with. Where there are training funds and where programmes can be designed to meet the AI piece that is going to impact every business, that will involve an iterative process of upskilling in AI, and more specific, targeted training for businesses as we move into new sectors of the economy.

It is about unlocking finance and then alignment. On the question of whether there is alignment or whether we just make submissions, there is a regional skills forum that we participate in.