Cork in 'very good place' economically

The new year is looking good for business in Cork city, but it’s very important that the incoming government gets up and running, the head of Cork Chamber has said.

Cork Chamber CEO, Conor Healy, said he expects 2025 to be a “very important year” here on Leeside and that the chamber is looking to the new year with “great optimism and confidence” for a number of reasons.

“Cork's in a very good place from an economic point of view. We have a lot of investment, we have a lot of jobs growth,” he told the Cork Independent.

“We do have to start seeing the benefits of the level of exchequer funding we have available,” added Mr Healy.

From a Cork perspective, he said it's important that Cork sees a high level of investment in key projects in the new year and going forward.

“We need to see significant progress over the next five year term of this government in terms of realising the potential that exists,” said Mr Healy.

The Cork Docklands Regeneration Projects is one such key project which Mr Healy said represents a “huge opportunity” for Cork city in a European context.

He explained: “There's a lot of enablement needed for that to happen. There are existing industries that need to be able to move out of the Docklands.

“Just very recently we saw challenges around that where An Board Pleanála refused planning permission to enable one of those businesses to move,” added Mr Healy.

The primary reason for An Bord Pleanála’s decision, continued Mr Healy, is largely due to a lack of road infrastructure, particularly the R624 Cobh Road which he said requires upgrade.

“What we're seeing is relatively small pieces of infrastructure like that road project being a barrier to elements of growth and activity in the Docklands,” said Mr Healy.

Leeside SMEs in 2025

For people in Cork city thinking about starting up a small or medium sized businesses (SMEs) this year, Mr Healy said they should not be put off by the recent narrative “which can be very negative at times”.

He said the new government needs to make message clear to new SMEs that it is interested and that there will be supports in place the SME community going forward.

“In Cork, for anyone considering starting a business, the opportunities are rife. There are lots of supports there through all the various agencies, including ourselves,” said Mr Healy.