Ibec wants Budget 2021 to stimulate Midlands region

Ibec, the group that represents Irish business, has called on Government to not waste the opportunities presented by Budget 2021 to stimulate investment in the Midland region and place overall regional development at the heart of the recovery. As the region enters Level 3 of Covid restrictions, further targeted financial support will be required for the sectors worst impacted.

Ibec’s Senior Regional Policy Executive, Helen Leahy said: “As we head toward 2021, we now have a clearer view of the true economic damage caused by Covid.

“Decades of underinvestment, particularly in the areas of transport, housing and our higher education system, means that our regional economies will be the most severely impacted by the Covid crisis. Budget 2021 affords Government an important opportunity to deliver the first steps in reversing this trend in underinvestment and support long-term regional recovery.

“In recent weeks Ibec has been engaging extensively with Ministers and local TDs on priorities for the Midlands region and is calling for a commitment to review and upscale the National Development Plan in order to deliver a major investment stimulus. Government needs to offset the decline in economic activity with a significant ramping up of capital spending in the region.

“In addition, we are also seeking to ensure that emergency supports, which are due to be withdrawn from the economy in the first half of 2021, are followed by a new stage of policy measures to support the economic recovery throughout the duration of the public health crisis. The decision to move the whole of the country to Level 3 restrictions further underlines the fact that the economy is not yet ready to carry itself. A new stage of policy measures will be needed to rehabilitate the regional economy, strengthen our competitiveness, and ensure recovery.

Ms. Leahy added that the challenges posed by a potentially disruptive Brexit must also be addressed in the upcoming Budget. She said: “In the aftermath of the last recession the one bright light for most of rural and regional Ireland was the growth in the exporting sectors. These sectors are now the most exposed to Brexit. A second blow, within a twelve-month period, would represent a damning setback for the prospects of a balanced regional recovery. It is imperative that Budget 2021 delivers a suite of measures that can help Irish companies to diversify, innovate and re-align their business models.”

For more information on Ibec’s Budget 2021 Submission, head to www.ibec.ie