Introducing Donal Cantillon Limerick Chamber President

Interview with incoming President Donal Cantillon

With a new year comes a new Limerick Chamber president. This year, Donal Cantillon is taking up the Chamber mantle and capitalising on the research and policy work that has been undertaken in the past few years. “In the year ahead, we’re really going to focus on delivering on the projects that are currently live and unlocking the tremendous potential for those,” Donal explained, “We want to use the material we already have and develop our policies for those while continuing to lobby on behalf of our members.”

Cantillon is a director with Focus Capital Partners, a corporate finance advisory firm with offices in both Limerick and Dublin. Prior to joining Focus, Donal served as Head of Business Banking MidWest for Bank of Ireland, where he worked with and supported the region’s SME business community — experience that will serve him well as President of Limerick Chamber.

“I’m really looking forward to the year ahead,” Donal said, “It’s a fantastic honour to lead the Chamber, and I’m looking forward to trying to make Limerick a better place to do business, to work, live and play.” To that end, Cantillon expects that the research that has already been completed and the projects that have been launched will be the primary focus throughout the course of 2022.

One key report, the Future Limerick City Report, which focused on the potential of the city centre in comparison to other similar-sized cities, will give direction to lobbying of government officials as well as communication with stakeholders. “The Chamber recognises the benefits of a thriving city for all businesses operating in the midwest and we look forward to furthering the recommendations of this report throughout the year by holding key stakeholders accountable in the delivery of key infrastructure projects, thus unlocking the vast potential of these city centre sites which can be a driver of economic growth in the region.”

Accountability will be an important theme that runs throughout the Chamber’s efforts this year, with the launch of both a public dashboard in conjunction with the Limerick City County Council as well as a Chamber infrastructure project tracker that will highlight the progress of key projects in the region. “These should deliver greater transparency for the public and members on policies and projects that are already afoot,” according to Donal.

Donal recognised that while the height of the pandemic might be behind us, focus must also be brought to the current conflict in Ukraine. “We must firstly show solidarity with the Ukrainian people being displaced and continue to provide humanitarian aid and assistance where possible,” Cantillon said, “And maybe now is an opportune time for us to re-look at our national energy strategy with the aim of becoming self-sufficient.” Donal referenced the Shannon LNG project as well as the potential move to off-shore wind as sources of sustainable energy that would take pressure away from imported sources. “We need to kickstart the development of offshore wind capabilities in order to reduce our dependence on Russian fossil fuels and accelerate our transition to more green alternatives,” Cantillon explained, “In doing so, Ireland can not only become a world leader in generating a cleaner source of energy but can also become energy self-sufficient and a net exporter of energy to the European grid.” In order to keep these projects at the forefront of the agenda, Cantillon anticipates calling on the government to move the offshore renewable energy remit from the Department of Housing to either the department of the Taoiseach or Tánaiste to reflect its vital importance to Ireland and Europe. “Our biggest limiting factor with this critical area will be ambition,” Cantillon said.

As the crisis in Ukraine continues to impact businesses and families here in Ireland, Cantillon expects to be putting pressure on the government on behalf of members to ensure they are supported in the face of unprecedented inflation. “We received very good supports during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the government have shown they’re able to move fast,” he explained, “We’ll be leaning on them to double down on those efforts to ensure supports are in place, particularly for those businesses that are most impacted by increases in energy costs.”

With challenges on the horizon and ample research and recommendations at hand, Cantillon is energised by the tasks at hand, “It will be a busy year, but I am looking forward to both the challenges and opportunities over the coming 12 months.”