Search Results for 'Karen Ronan'

Galway Chamber has warned that the Government risks entrenching regional imbalance by pressing ahead with the Dublin Airport Passenger Capacity Bill 2026 without first assessing the national and regional consequences.

Business and Professional Women (BPW) Galway will host its annual Candle Lighting Ceremony on Friday, March 6 at 7pm in the Glenlo Abbey Hotel, bringing together businesswomen from across the city and county for an evening of connection, reflection and celebration.

On Wednesday last week, Network Ireland Galway’s President Sharon Kelly held her inaugural event, their Open Evening at Lena’s, Radisson RED Galway and what an incredible evening it was.

Network Ireland, the country’s largest business networking organisation for women, has appointed Karen Ronan, Chief Executive of Galway Chamber of Commerce, as its National President for 2026.

British Ambassador to Ireland Kara Owen chose Galway for her first official visit outside Dublin since her appointment in October.

The Galway Chamber of Commerce is calling on the Government, and in particular the Minister of State for Local Government & Planning, to urgently review and upgrade the tier-level status of Galway City Council (currently Tier 5) to Tier 4 or higher. National funding allocations do not reflect the scale, growth and cost pressures facing Galway City and its business community.

The Irish Management Institute (IMI), a centre of excellence in business education, has announced two one-day programmes in Galway on 16–17 September aimed at enhancing the AI capabilities of business professionals across the county and beyond.

The Government’s review of the National Development Plan (NDP) presents a vital opportunity to realign national priorities, but Galway Chamber emphasises that without clear timelines, regional transparency, and strong oversight, the momentum risks stalling. Central to all of this will be the Government’s priority towards regional balance, which must be an integral part of the revised plan and the projects to be implemented.

In years past, the NDP would be a ‘shopping list’ of projects which the cabinet awarded funding to, often after intense local lobbying, but it is now more a broad-brush statement of which policy areas or government departments will have funding prioritised.

“I’m young enough” he maintains, as the 53-year-old steeples his hands thoughtfully, sitting in the boardroom in City Hall. This prayer-like posture comes naturally for an ordained deacon of the Catholic church, who ranks his family, faith and a community-development based approach to his work, as the three pillars of his worldview.