THERE has been a “transformational change for Limerick in the last three years as over 7,800 jobs have been announced for the region in that time, Limerick Chamber president has said ahead of the region’s business awards next week.
Releasing the shortlist for the Limerick Chamber Regional Business Awards, Chamber President Catherine Duffy has stated that it is a reflection of the positivity and sense of opportunity associated with doing business in the city, county and region.
Confirming that Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar will be the guest speaker on the night, the General Manager of Northern Trust in Limerick, said that her final Regional Business Awards as President will be a very positive barometer of the region’s business health.
“This is the last Regional Business Awards in my term as President and, looking back, the past two years may have been amongst the two most progressive in decades for Limerick and the wider region’s economy in decades.
“Limerick is today a very different place from what it was five years ago and the progress since the beginning of 2014, in particular, has been tangible. In the three years since, there have been 7,800 jobs announced for Limerick and its environs. That’s a transformational change for a city and county of this size.
“Better still, at the unveiling of the Limerick Twenty Thirty company to key strategic sites recently, we were told that another 5,000 would be created over the next five years and that this was a conservative estimate. There’s a new-found confidence in Limerick and it’s very much evident in the companies that have been shortlisted for the Limerick Chamber Regional Business Awards. The mix reflects the rude health of the Limerick business environment right now, from the SME sector right up to large indigenous and multi-national companies.”
Ms Duffy, who will complete her two-year term as Chamber President next spring, said that there has been a confluence of reasons as to why Limerick is on the up.
“There really is a pro-business environment here and a very positive thing for Limerick and the region also is that all the key stakeholders and business drivers, from Shannon Group to Limerick City and County Council and from Shannon Foynes Port Company to our third level organisations, are progressive entities that have set ambitious targets for growth. They are all going the same direction, which is up.
“It does, of course, help that at a national level, Ireland is a more competitive place to do business. Limerick, in my book, is the most competitive city in Ireland to do business and is blessed by having at its doorstep pretty much everything it needs to succeed – an international airport, a quality port authority, great road network, third level institutions and a local authority that has illustrated its support for business by introducing low commercial rates.
“I would safely say that it is decades since this level of confidence abounded in Limerick and there’s a real sense that we’re only starting to get going here.”
Some 22 companies have been shortlisted across eight awards – two companies, Shannon Group and Regeneron, are both nominated in separate categories – and this year also sees the introduction also of a new award, for the ‘Best Family Business’. An ‘Overall Business of the Year’ award will be chosen from the eight categories, while there will also be the President’s Award, which goes to a Limerick person or group who has made a specific and significant business/economic contribution. Previous winners of this award include Dr. Ed Walsh, Rose Hynes, Denis Brosnan, Paddy O’Sullivan and Des O’Malley.
The Shortlisted Companies for the 2016 Limerick Chamber Regional Business Awards are as follows:
Best CSR 2016
Shannon Group; Regeneron; Grasslands Agro
Best Large 2016
Dell; Regeneron; Shannon Group
Best SME 2016
Medmark; Cashbook Software; Antaris Consulting
Best Family Business 2016
Fitzgerald’s Woodlands; Flannery’s Bar; Impact Labelling
Best Retail & Hospitality 2016
Tiger Retail Store; Shannon Heritage; Tuscany Bistro
Best Services 2016
Home Instead; Ripplecom; Antaris Consulting
Best Sports, Arts, Culture 2016
University Concert Hall; Limerick Racecourse; Lough Gur
Best Community 2016
Clionas Foundation; Tail Community Enterprise; Focus Ireland
Overall Business of the Year 2016
