As your new President of Newry Chamber, I would like to wish all our Members, Corporate Patrons, Sponsors, Partners, Suppliers, their families and their staff a very Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.
To say 2023 has been a difficult year is an understatement. Rising living costs and increasing interest rates have contributed to very tough trading conditions and just when we thought things couldn’t get any worse, our area was hit with an extreme weather event that caused widespread flooding which threatened the very survival of a large number of our small businesses.
Despite all this adversity, the resilience, determination and sense of community that has been part of the commercial DNA of Newry for centuries shone through again and as we find a pathway through these challenges, we will emerge from them stronger than ever.
Our local business community is a formidable force when we work together and Newry Chamber will continue in 2024 to be a strong lobbying voice for commerce and industry in our city to ensure your needs and the needs of all our members are met.
Over the next two years as President, I want to lead a Chamber that will fight to ensure that the infrastructure deficit in our region is addressed and we have a level of investment from Government that underpins long-term confidence in our SME Sector, we can fulfil our ambitions to develop Newry into a city that is an economic powerhouse on the Dublin-Belfast corridor.
As well as leading on all things economic, we will also be playing our part in supporting all efforts to improve the social fabric of our city and district. We will continue to play our role in the Daisy Hill Future Group to secure the long-term future of our local acute hospital services.
We will work with local charities and social enterprises that are the safety net that protects the vulnerable in our society and we will continue to bring business, schools and training organisations together to ensure we create a positive future for our young people, a future that is inclusive and gives everyone a fair opportunity to shine.
We will continue to speak up for business, provide opportunities for networking and growth and advocate for a city and district that has the strongest entrepreneurial spirit on this island.
While we are currently experiencing difficult times, better times are around the corner and if we continue to work together and be there for each other, those better times may come sooner than we think.
There is lots to be positive about in 2024, let’s make the most of it. In the meantime, enjoy the break and the Chamber Offices will be closed from Friday 22nd December and will reopen on Tuesday 2nd January.
Happy Christmas and Best Wishes for the New Year!