In pictures: Minister Calleary attends Letterkenny Chamber President’s lunch

Letterkenny Chamber welcomed members and guests to a packed house for its annual President’s lunch sponsored by Bank of Ireland. Please click on the arrows to go through the gallery

The theme of Shaping the Future of Business was threaded through the President’s speech and the expert panel of business people that followed the lunch, which was attended by the Minister for Social Protection, Rural and Community Development, Dara Calleary.

Letterkenny Chamber CEO Toni Forrester was enthusiastic about the opportunities that the event garnered.

“This was an excellent opportunity with the Minister in the room to outline our ambitions for this region and county,” she said. “We are passionate and optimistic about this town and county and know that if critical infrastructure deficits were addressed, it would be a place that offers boundless opportunities for our young people.”

When advocating for ‘positive discrimination’ towards Letterkenny and the North West Region Chamber President Jimmy Stafford highlighted that Letterkenny’s population now stands at 22,500 people with an additional 20,000 workers and students entering the town on a daily basis.

Mr Stafford also called on the Government to reverse the recent decision to designate the surgical hub for the region at Sligo University. This is a bad decision that clearly disadvantages people in County Donegal.

Commenting on the Minister’s address, Mr Stafford said: “Minister Calleary understands this Northern & Western region well and we hope that he will take back our very important messages around enabling infrastructure and the need to finally deliver balanced regional development. We, alongside our stakeholders, will continue to advocate for our members and their employees with as much vigour and enthusiasm as we can.”

“This is the time for delivery of infrastructure, for a new approach, and for projects to be delivered with agility and enthusiasm.” We have an innovative and resilient business community who are investing in the region and we know this county delivers a quality of life unparalleled elsewhere, imagine how we could shape our future if the barriers to growth were lifted.”

The event concluded with a panel session featuring Maria Sweeney, MD, Safetech, and Darragh McCarthy, CEO FinTrU and Barry Gallagher, Bank of Ireland.