Aengus Burns has been confirmed as the new president of Galway Chamber. He said he was "hugely honoured and humbled" to have been elected to the position and outlined his key priorities for the year ahead.
The Chamber will continue to work with agencies, such as the Northern and Western Regional Assembly and the Western Development Commission, in marketing the region and presenting a united front in lobbying Government for investment and supports. “We want to drive the repopulation and reinvigoration of the west and post pandemic we will continue to see our region attract more and more people to live and work,” he says.
“We have a real chance to right centuries of under investment and emigration, and I am hugely enthusiastic for the role Galway will play for our region.”
Mr. Burns also alluded to Government intervention and supports for businesses to enable a full recovery from the pandemic. “We continue to see unprecedented Government intervention in an attempt to shield business and employees from negative impacts. We will continue to communicate our member concerns and demand better. We will continue to provide leadership towards a better business future.
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“Through our five strategic pillars we will continue to focus on broad based incremental improvements. We need to keep building consensus across all stakeholders to ensure unity of purpose and avoid any excuse for prevarication or delay. We know this is about building momentum and small wins leading to big wins with growing confidence in what our city can deliver.”
Progress must be made in delivering housing in the city according to Mr Burns. “We want to bring more communities into the city to live and work. By bringing more people together business networks strengthen and grow. We have plenty capacity for renovation of underutilised amenities in our city and it is the sustainable way to grow our future.”
'There will be future upheavals and crises no doubt, but with our consensus approach and unrelenting efforts we have and will continue to see great achievements'
Mr Burns praised the work being carried out by Galway Chamber Transport Committee, ‘Get Galway Moving’, such as their engagement and communication on transport matters in particular the delivery of the Galway Transport Strategy, “The Galway Transport Strategy is a journey and not a final destination. We will continue to build on it, but we must see more tangible progress in its delivery or we are at risk of choking off our city to future development.”
He paid tribute to outgoing president JP Gilmartin’s ‘steady manner, calm nature, and grounded leadership’, and is excited about the future. “I really feel there are so many positives for Galway that are turning into place and building momentum. There will be future upheavals and crises no doubt, but with our consensus approach and unrelenting efforts we have and will continue to see great achievements. We are working together more than ever before with consistency of vison and purpose and I am truly excited for Galway, its chamber and members.”
