Una McGoey, President Dundalk Chamber and several other Council members met with Minister Neale Richmond at a public meeting in the Creative Spark Downtown Hub.
Una welcomed the Minister and thanked him for the opportunity to meet. She confirmed that the Budget changes had proved a success in relation to sales of Shop Local vouchers for 2022.
She also detailed the Chamber position on the Northern Ireland Protocol. It was clear that businesses in Dundalk and Newry were doing more business than ever. Therefore, if the east west arrangements needed adjustment, the North South position needed to be left alone.
The Minister gave assurance that the North South position would not change.
Paddy Malone PRO raised concerns over a number of problems with the Temporary Business Energy Support scheme. He pointed out that the timeline for applying for the first grant was too tight, with details only released in December and closed off in January.
He also stated that the response time from Revenue on queries was unacceptable and finally that at 121 pages the scheme as set up was administratively demanding. Paddy pointed out that this explained why the take up was lower than the Minister for Finance expected. Paddy also invited all present to attend the 7th post Brexit conference on the morning of 8th March, in conjunction with Newry Chamber in the Carrickdale hotel.
