Deirdre O'Connor’s Post

This week CBRE launched their 2025 Outlook Report, looking into 2025 across all sectors of commercial real estate. I was delighted to moderate the panel this year where we discussed ‘The Outlook for US FDI into Ireland' with Deirdre O'Connor, Divisional Manager, Strategic Property & Regional Enterprise Development, IDA Ireland, and Colm O'Callaghan, Director of Public Affairs & Advocacy, American Chamber of Commerce Ireland. It couldn’t have been a more fitting time coinciding with the the inauguration. Some key takeaways: ▪️ Ireland has strong relationships with companies and the US political system. ▪️ Ireland is on the edge of Europe with access to a huge barrier-free trade market, has a highly educated workforce, and is English-speaking. ▪️ The Irish relationship with the US is a two-way relationship. With a population of 5 million people, Ireland is the 7th largest source of FDI into the US. ▪️ Data centres are an essential part of our IT structure, and we need to talk about energy generation, not consumption. ▪️ Ireland is seen as a pro-business environment with political stability. ▪️ The government's housing policy, new planning act, and commitments around infrastructure are welcomed by FDI. The outlook for US FDI is positive. Yes, there are some hurdles along the way, but given the above, I think Ireland is in a strong position for the future. Uncover our Outlook for 2025 at: http://spr.ly/6044aAwTC CBRE Ireland Colin Richardson Emer Geissel Niall Little #commercialrealestate #CBREOutlook2025 #FDIIreland

We’re delighted and honoured to be speaking at Connected Britain today and tomorrow – the UK’s biggest digital economy event. Our very own digital leaders will be shining a light on the work we are doing here in Dorset to improve people’s lives and influence greater economic growth. Dorset Council service manager for Digital Place, Dugald Lockhart (pictured) will be on a panel this afternoon that is discussing 'how to approach connectivity as a non-city region'. He will be talking about how the council supports the roll out of gigabit fibre and highlights the issue of mobile coverage in rural areas. Dugald said: “In Dorset we focus our work strategically on communities and sectors that can benefit most –rural areas, supporting defence and security telecoms activity at our Enterprise Zone and supporting regeneration in areas like Weymouth, Dorchester and Portland.” Dugald is not the only Dorset Council representative who will be speaking today at Connected Britain, which attracts 7,500 industry experts, innovators, and policymakers. Our digital skills and inclusion lead, Penny Syddall, is on a panel talking about the role of partnership in tackling digital exclusion. Penny will be highlighting how the lack of a national programme on digital inclusion has led to some local authorities, like Dorset, taking a lead and introducing innovative work. The lack of national cohesion means solutions are different in different places. She will highlight the importance of local partners working together so residents know what help is out there. Penny said: “We need to be strategic, understanding local gaps and try to plug them.” Tomorrow it will be the turn of Dorset Council's Colin Woods and Gary Littledyke. #ConnectedBritain #DigitalDorset #DigitalInclusion #DigitalSkills #DigitalConnectivity #EconomicGrowth Dorset Council UK Dugald Lockhart Penny Syddall FCIPR Gary Littledyke Colin Wood

Reflecting on the past and looking ahead to a new year (including municipal elections in Alberta), I find myself thinking about legacy decision making and the pace of change in local government. Perhaps the new year's resolution for Canadian municipalities will entail a mindset shift to further enable innovative, outcome-based solutions. Cheers to moving from smart to smarter cities in 2025! "Cities can no longer make decisions alone, based only on gut feel and benchmarks. Today’s pace and pressure of change requires rapid decision-making and execution. The world has changed too much and too fast over the past few years: social expectations have evolved; climate risks have become more active; social inequalities have become divisive; and ways of working and purchasing behaviors have been revolutionized. What was true just five years ago may not be valid thinking today. As pollsters and politicians are rapidly finding, historic benchmarks and assumptions are no longer reliable... Governments cannot deliver everything that citizens and businesses require on their own. They simply do not have the required financial resources, capacity, capabilities or technology. Therefore, rather than focusing solely on delivering services, city leaders should be focused on enabling outcomes. The shift in mindset could be revolutionary."   #smartcities #legacydecisionmaking #hopeforthefuture

Make your voice heard and take part in the #UKNetZeroCensus to influence the policies of the next UK Government! ⚡️Don’t delay! Closing time: 30th June 👇🏼Link in post below and first comment! #UKNetZeroCensus #SustainableBusiness

📊 UK Business Daily Roundup: 18th December 🇬🇧 As the year winds down, UK businesses continue to navigate a dynamic landscape of opportunities and challenges. Here’s a quick look at today’s key updates across industries: 🔝 Highs: • Strong Retail Activity: With just a week to Christmas, retailers are reporting robust sales figures, driven by last-minute holiday shopping and festive promotions. • Green Energy Investment: A new multi-million-pound deal has been announced to boost the UK’s wind energy capacity, strengthening our position as a leader in renewables. • Tech Expansion: Several UK tech firms announced new international partnerships, showcasing the sector’s global influence and innovation. ⚠️ Lows: • Inflation Concerns: Despite some signs of easing, rising costs are still impacting small businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector. • Labour Market Strains: Ongoing recruitment challenges in healthcare and skilled trades remain a pressing issue for economic growth. • Policy Uncertainty: Businesses are eagerly awaiting updates on government strategies for energy support and net-zero commitments in 2024. 🔮 What’s Next? The resilience and ingenuity of UK businesses continue to shine. As we move into 2024, the focus remains on addressing cost pressures, boosting sustainability efforts, and leveraging global trade opportunities. How is your sector faring today? Let’s connect and share insights! #UKBusiness #EconomicGrowth #Sustainability #Innovation #GlobalTrade #BusinessResilience #NetZero 🇬🇧

Today EY has released the full version of the 2024 UK and Scotland Attractiveness surveys which showed that that foreign direct investment in the UK has grown by 6%. Some other key takeaways included: - The regional gap is widening for FDI in the UK, as only Greater London, Scotland, West Midlands and Southwest recorded growth. - Outside of London, Birmingham was the top UK city for attracting FDI, with Edinburgh coming in third. - The digital technology sector is a key component of the UK’s FDI growth, with 255 projects recorded. Greater London remains Europe’s leading city for digital technology. You can read more about the key findings below: UK: https://lnkd.in/gydrcAea Scotland: https://lnkd.in/g8W6QGAP #EY #FDI #EYAttract #BetterWorkingWorld

The PwC UK #GoodGrowth for Cities report is an important piece of research for the regions, as it highlights opportunities as well as challenges. In the North West, skills are improving, but we need to focus on individual growth plans to stay fit for the future. Take a look at it here

Dublin Chamber have issued the results of its Q3 Business Outlook Survey, which offers valuable insights into the priorities and challenges of Dublin’s business community ahead of the General Election.   Based on feedback from over 120 companies across the Dublin region, this survey captures business sentiment across a range of issues, including infrastructure delivery, traffic congestion, and staff productivity, amongst others. Some of the key findings are outlined below, Approximately half of Dublin businesses (45%) are currently dissatisfied with the delivery of infrastructure for Dublin under the National Development Plan (NDP), with an additional 9% reporting ‘very unsatisfied’.   Housing stands out as the leading issue for over half (51%) of businesses ahead of the General Election. Infrastructure and transport rank second, with close to two-in-five businesses (39%) highlighting these areas as crucial election priorities.   This quarter, rising business costs have emerged as a top challenge for about two out of every five firms (38%). Domestic growth ranks as a number one issue for just under one-in-five businesses (18%), while 15% identified labour availability as a key obstacle.   More than half of businesses (53%) expect AI to be the most transformative factor for their business models. Just under half (47%) anticipate labour availability to have a major impact, while slightly over two-in-five (44%) selected climate change and the shift towards decarbonisation.   To read the full report click on link below http://surl.li/cpjwyx #businessoutlook #dublinchamber #dublinbusiness

Netherlands Public Sector Market #NetherlandsPublicSector #PublicSectorNetherlands #NetherlandsGovernment #DutchPublicSector #PublicSectorMarket #NetherlandsPolicy #GovernmentServicesNL #DutchEconomy #NetherlandsGovernance #PublicSectorInnovation #NetherlandsPublicServices #PublicSectorGrowth

⏰ The clock is ticking on your organisation's chance to make your voice heard on #NetZero to influence the policies of the next UK Government! ⏰ If you haven't responded to the UK #NetZeroCensus yet, please do so ASAP! With the UK General Election now scheduled for 4th July, this Census now creates an even more crucial opportunity for us to make it clear to the incoming government what business priorities are, and what support and resources they need to advance on net zero. The survey closes on 30th June, which gives us time to analyse and publish the results when Parliament returns from the summer break in September, helping make sure that our new government delivers what businesses need. Please respond on behalf of your organisation and share the Census far and wide with your suppliers, customers and other stakeholders to help us gather the most significant ever dataset on the progress of UK industry on net zero! ✅ Tag / comment / share! ✅ Link in the comments, but also... netzerocensus .co.uk Big thanks to all the incredible partners supporting the UK Net Zero Business Census, including: UK Business Climate Hub, Planet Mark, CBI (Confederation of British Industry), Institute of Directors (IoD), Make UK, British Chambers of Commerce, The Broadway Initiative, IEMA, Barclays, British Business Bank, British Retail Consortium, BT Group, East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, Electricity North West, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, National Grid, NatWest Business, Northern Powergrid, Sage, SME Climate Hub, UKHospitality, Advertising Association, The Association for Rental Living, Bankers for Net Zero (B4NZ), The British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc), British Promotional Merchandise Association, BSI, Climate Action, Climate Action for Associations, Commercial Interiors UK, The Garden Centre Association, Heart of the City, Innovation Zero, ISOQAR, LawNet Ltd, London & Partners, Leisure and Outdoor Furniture Association, Octopus Energy, Alcumus SafeContractor, techUK, Ad Net Zero, Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE), Environmental Industries Commission (EIC), Corporate Leaders Groups #Census #UKNetZeroCensus #Sustainability #SustainableBusiness #Policy #GeneralElection #UKElection #DoMoreGood