Kevin Doolin, Executive Director of Walton Institute at SETU, was elected President of Waterford Chamber at the 237th AGM, which took place today (Monday, September 30th) in the Granville Hotel.
Mr Doolin has been involved with Waterford Chamber for a number of years and is an active voice in terms of lobbying, particularly around equitable funding for South East Technological University (SETU) and creating a vibrant city centre.
Addressing Waterford Chamber members, Mr Doolin said: “It is a great honour for me to be nominated by the board and endorsed by the members to serve as Chamber President.
"For the year ahead I want to focus on Waterford as a City of Innovation. Within my own work in Walton Institute at SETU, the innovation there is mind-blowing and world-renowned. But innovation isn’t just about technology and new discoveries, it can be seen in retail, tourism, housing and education. We need to be thinking outside the box, looking at ways to make our city better for everyone and I am looking forward to many meaningful engagements in this regard.
“I want to see the addition of Pharmacy at SETU become a reality during my tenure, I want to watch the North Quays grow into a catalyst for economic growth and we need to get the Airport over the line. As the old adage goes, lots done, more to do and I’m excited to get started.”
Reporting on Chamber activity, Chamber CEO Gerald Hurley outlined how they had recently conducted a ten year review, by saying “We wanted to gauge how far we have come and I am delighted to say the findings were astonishing. In terms of membership, we have seen an increase of 35%. As for financials, we went from a deficit in 2014 to a very healthy surplus you can see today, which has put Waterford Chamber in a strong financial footing. This means that we now have the capacity to grow the team, and we have been able to invest in moving from the Shop Local paper-based gift vouchers to credit card style, which are more user-friendly and will help drive footfall in the city centre.
“Looking at the Waterford Gift Cards, we saw an 18-fold increase in sales. However, we have a long way to go when you look at areas like Letterkenny who did €7.5 million; Dundalk did €4 million n and Dungarvan cleared €1.5 million in 2023. This money goes directly into the community where we live or work. We have to take responsibility for our actions in this regard by understanding the importance of the Gift Cards to supporting the local businesses and help reduce the €600m retail leakage that we are currently experiencing. We are asking employers to please support this initiative if they are giving Christmas bonuses and we’re appealing to employees to ask for Waterford Gift Cards instead of other cards, which do not guarantee usage in the city.”
Looking at the past year alone, Mr Hurley stated: “This past year has been nothing short of epic. Attendance at events has been at an all-time high, we have hosted more Government officials than ever before, lobbied on many diverse issues and reached new heights in terms of our membership offering.
“Waterford Chamber has always been and will always be about its members. It is our job to represent you. We all want a vibrant business community, increased footfall, better incentives so we can keep the doors open. We haven’t been afraid to tackle the hard issues with Government Ministers and Oireachtas members – whether it’s on the 9% VAT rate, lack of equitable funding for SETU, delayed decision making in terms of Waterford Airport, the need to tackle dereliction in our city centre or the housing crisis, among other issues.”
As for SETU, he added: “Over the past year, we have been extremely vocal in our desire to see SETU receive equitable funding and become a university of substance and international standing. Its prominent position in our Pre-Budget submission, compiled by leading economist Jim Power, on our behalf, pays testament to that.
We were delighted to bring the regional Chambers with us in our support for the Veterinary School at SETU, and we worked with several stakeholders to get this over the line. We will now move forward with our support for Pharmacy along with the expansion of the School of Nursing and hope for a similar outcome.”
Thanking outgoing President Niall Harrington, Mr Hurley said: “Niall has been a tremendous President, bringing about many positive changes within the Chamber, not least by honouring his predecessor Paul Nolan as the first Patron of Waterford Chamber.
“But what has been most invaluable is Niall’s ability to sell Waterford, to fight for Waterford and to tackle the Government on the hard issues. He is a very proud Deise man and we look forward to continuing his work into the future.”
Meanwhile, the new President, Kevin Doolin, welcomed Eadaoin Carrick, Executive Chairperson of Cantec as Deputy President; Marian Walsh, Carron + Walsh as Vice President, and said he was looking forward to working with the board, including: Andrew Briggs, AIB; Andrew Byrne, Deloitte; Deirdre Houlihan, Faithlegg; Fergal Hartley, Hartley People; Georgina Carpendale, Fitzgerald Power; Niall Griffin, Metalman Engineering; Oliver Murphy, Oliver Murphy Insurance Brokers; Regina Mangan, Liberty Blue Estate Agents; Richard Hayes, South East Technological University; Ronan Brazil, O’Sullivan Scanlon Brazil (Treasurer) and Ronan Mulligan, Mulligan's Pharmacy.
