THE NEWLY-appointed CEO of Limerick Chamber has said that pushing Limerick to become the best it can be will be a key part of her tenure as CEO.
Michelle Gallagher was appointed as the CEO of Limerick Chamber earlier this month, and in her first sit-down interview since coming into the role, she told the Limerick Post that her passion for the Treaty County will spur her on to help Limerick reach its full potential.
Ms Gallagher said that there was much more need for “joined up thinking” when it comes to solving the issues that Limerick has, and that housing, transport and better urban planning will be her key priorities as Chamber CEO.
“I’d like to see a lot more joined up thinking during my tenure. There’s so many stakeholders in the city and county and within this region, and my mandate is to try and get embedded with as many of these as possible,” Ms Gallagher said.
The newly appointed Chamber CEO continued, saying that “my door is open, I want to be fully transparent, integrity is really important to me. But equally, I am going to fight hard for for businesses in this region”.
Coming from a political household where her father Michael Brennan was a councillor for 21 years, and a senator for five years, as well as her mother Rose also sitting as a councillor for 10 years, Ms Gallagher said that she “understands how local government operates. I understand how national government operates, I want to ensure that we are the leading voice and advocate”.
“I think this region has so much to offer, and I’m kind of tired of the cliche, counterbalance pendulum, Limerick being the pendulum to Dublin, like Dublin is the centre of gravity in terms of population so forth. But Dublin is creaking at the seams, and I think that we have a great opportunity to be much more than a pendulum balance,” Ms Gallagher opined.
The Adare woman said that more sustainable means of transport will also be one of her key properties, which she says, should help to open up more economic corridors across the county.
“The city is clogged in so many arteries, and I think good rail connectivity would unlock the potential for better network access and better economic corridors,” the Chamber CEO stated.
“I do think in terms of urban planning, there’s so much that needs to get done in terms of housing, that is a massive agenda item for us, because Ireland is very much open for business, we want this region, in terms of FDI (foreign direct investment), to be top of mind, but people have the right to live somewhere, and there’s a huge housing shortage”.
Limerick Chamber have recently published their pre-Budget submission, and are continuing to work on their election submission, lobbying government on the key needs for Limerick and the Mid West.
“Limerick is a great place to do business. It’s a great place to live. I mean, I’ve made a very conscious decision to choose Limerick and stay and fight to stay in this region and raise my family here and have a future here and carve my career path here. I’m Limerick through and through, and I will continue to fly that flag, hopefully on a on a national and international stage,” Ms Gallagher concluded.
