Business in Cork going from strength to strength, says CBA President

This year at Cork Business Association has been one of change and growth, meaningful collaboration, and unwavering commitment to the vitality of Cork’s business community. And as we look ahead to 2025, we are focused on strengthening the fabric of our organisation and the city.

A new direction

In the last 12 months, the CBA evolved significantly. We restructured our board and executive and introduced a transformative five-year strategy designed to address Cork’s evolving needs.

The Safe & Clean pillar led our focus in 2024. We are all aware of the challenges facing our city and all cities, so we have been working closely with key stakeholders and taking concrete measures to ensure Cork remains the safest, cleanest, and most welcoming city.

Achievements include establishing a Safe & Clean Working Group to address city-wide concerns; hosting a successful Safe & Clean Event in October, featuring input from An Garda Síochána, Lodge Security, and Cork City Council; and advocating for and securing an increased Garda presence, with up to six additional Gardaí deployed in the city centre since July to enhance safety and support summer trading. This is now supported by An Garda Síochána’s highly visible Community Van in the city, and we are now pushing for these resources to continue and grow.

We also increased collaboration with large retailers through a new Retail Working Group, which amongst many other initiatives are now promoting crime reporting to improve data accuracy. And we most recently worked with An Garda Síochána to release retail safety tips during the busy Christmas season.

Innovating the night-time economy

The CBA actively supported Cork’s Night-time Economy Plan, spearheaded by Fiona Collins of Cork City Council.

In recent weeks, we rolled out a number of initiatives, including the Leave A Light On campaign, which was widely supported to create a safer, more inviting atmosphere in our city at night; a Christmas Window Display Competition to celebrate businesses’ efforts in brightening the city; and Coffee House Lates to encourage alternative evening social venues beyond pubs and bars. Grants were provided to support these initiatives, showcasing Cork’s leadership in enhancing urban experiences.

Supporting local businesses

This year, the CBA redoubled its efforts to support our members in navigating an evolving landscape of doing business in Cork city, and in doing so we increased membership by almost 50%. We remain committed to supporting businesses through challenges.

Throughout 2024, the CBA worked closely with stakeholders, including Cork City Council, political leaders, An Garda Síochána and others, to address these challenges.

In addition to Safe & Clean, we continue to advocate for better infrastructure, support for staff shortages, housing issues, and towards the increased cost of doing business, in addition to reliefs on debt warehousing, and a reduction in the VAT rate.

We joined forces with Cork Chamber, VFI, IHF and RAI in 2024 to once again call for the Cork Event Centre, and while delayed, we are hopeful to see that this project has returned to tender and will progress forward.

We welcome new Chief Executive of Cork City Council, Valerie O Sullivan, and her new Cork city directorate, and Cork’s newly nominated TDs. These partnerships are vital as we navigate challenges and opportunities in 2025.

Festivals over the year continued to have an amazing impact on the city, from Corkmas to Sounds of a Safe Harbour, to the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival, Culture Night and Cork on a Fork Festival, which we were a proud partner of, and we will continue to support.

In November, we acknowledged incredible businesses throughout the city at our Cork Better Building Awards. Our Cork Business of the Year Awards will take place again on March 29 at Cork’s Vienna Woods, and we encourage all businesses to enter for free when applications go live in January.

A look to the future

In 2025, we will continue to focus on our strategic pillars. We will never take our eyes off Safe & Clean. All cities have issues but we believe Cork will be on the up next year.

In the summer, the CBA successfully applied for funding from the Department of Justice for two Community Safety Warden. These trained personnel will work closely with residents, businesses, Gardaí, and the most vulnerable in society to enhance safety, prevent crime, build community cohesion, and become a tourism resource..

In addition, Cork City 2030 will be a key priority for CBA in 2025. We need a city that is attractive, but also one that works. We have to get the key ingredients right - employment, living and transport. We need good, reliable transport links, more affordable housing, visitor attractions including the Event Centre… These are things that will appeal to those who want to come and live and work in this city.

As Cork City Council works towards a climate neutral city by 2030, we will ensure our members receive the appropriate support. We will share details of grants available of up to €10,000 and kick off 2025 with Climate Action Clinics in the CBA office on South Mall.

In the spring, the Cork Cleaning and Greening Initiative, in partnership with Cork City Council, will focus on deep cleansing, planting, painting and revitalising streetscapes, encouraging civic pride street by street.

We will also provide retail security training and host further informative CBA Events.

The growth trajectory for Cork looks very positive. Opera Lane is again at full occupancy. The activity around the old Roches Stores building, now owned by Elvery’s Intersport, is exciting, and if the rumours are true, this new offer will be a massive draw and also open up a spectacular shop front for all to enjoy.

We have been assured that interest in retail space here is stronger than ever and look forward to more exciting news in 2025.

And it is not just retail space that is rising, on the South Mall, JW Donovan have extended their footprint, RDJ have returned to their old stomping ground, and Work Vivo has opened new offices on Lapps Quay. What a vote of confidence in Cork.

Get involved

I’d like to encourage more businesses to get involved with CBA, as together our members can make up a pool of talent with a wealth of knowledge and expertise to help drive Cork City into the future. Membership supports our activities and events, it gives us a stronger voice in the city, and we are now moving towards a position where we can invest back into members.

In conclusion

At the CBA we remain optimistic about the future of Cork city. We can see the hard work and dedication of the many stakeholders working within the city, and while there are obvious hurdles and challenges, it must be said that Cork, because of its collaborative business and stakeholder eco-system, is uniquely placed to emerge from these challenges as a vibrant, inclusive, thriving and sustainable city. CBA will continue to work from the ground up to support our members where it matters.

Let us move forward together, building on the achievements of 2024.

Here’s to a prosperous 2025 for Cork’s business community!