Limerick Chamber Budget 2026 submission urges Government to prioritise balanced regional development

Limerick Chamber Budget 2026 submission urges Government to prioritise balanced regional development. Limerick Chamber Pre Budget 2026 Launch, Castletroy Park Hotel. Pictured are members Sean Golden, Mairead Connolly (President) and Michelle Gallagher Pic. Brian Arthur

Limerick Chamber Urges Government to Prioritise Balanced Regional Development in Budget 2026 Submission: “Sustainable Infrastructure, Sustainable Growth”

Budget 2026 is a pivotal moment in Ireland’s economic journey, with unprecedented headwinds due to tariffs and a backdrop of global conflict.

In this landscape, Limerick Chamber is calling on Government to introduce measures to support businesses, SMEs in particular, as “Ireland Inc” seeks to reduce reliance on a small number of taxpayers.

Limerick Chamber is also calling for ambitious investment in sustainable infrastructure.  This encompasses roads, housing, transport, healthcare, justice and education.  However, in light of the anticipated costs of missing greenhouse gas reduction targets, estimated at up to €28bn by 2030, a level of ambition on a scale not seen since the development of Ardnacrusha a century ago is critically and urgently needed in relation to renewables. In its pre-budget submission, titled Sustainable Infrastructure, Sustainable Growth, the Chamber warns that failure to act now will expose Ireland to increased energy insecurity, and lost economic potential — particularly in the regions.

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While the revised National Development Plan (NDP) 2025 sets out an ambitious national agenda, the Chamber notes a concerning and consistent lack of clarity around regional delivery and project-level detail. This lack of visibility disproportionately impacts areas like the Mid-West, which already significantly lags in key areas such as housing, water infrastructure, and transport connectivity.

“Ireland’s regions, particularly the Mid-West, are being left in a holding pattern due to a lack of infrastructure certainty,” said Mairead Connolly, President of Limerick Chamber. “The cost of inaction is mounting. If we do not front-load investment in sustainable infrastructure now, we will pay far more in the short term in climate penalties and missed opportunities by 2030 and 2050. Investing today is the obvious choice, derisking Ireland’s dependence on third parties and bringing payback for decades both to the country and directly to the Midwest economy.   Budget 2026 must be the moment we move from rhetoric to results.”

Among the top priorities identified in the submission are:

• Water and Housing Infrastructure: Chronic delays in water infrastructure are directly obstructing new housing and commercial development. Budget 2026 must include targeted, ring-fenced capital funding to unlock housing supply and economic growth across the Mid-West.

• Regional Transport Connectivity: The Chamber calls for accelerated investment in the Limerick-Shannon metropolitan rail network, key roads like the N/M20, and the Limerick BusConnects programme – all of which are vital to achieving compact urban growth and decarbonisation.

• Aviation and Trade Access: Regional airports such as Shannon are essential to Ireland’s international business links. The Chamber urges immediate inclusion of Shannon Airport in the expanded Regional Airports Programme and calls for a new National Aviation Policy that reflects the ambitions of Project Ireland 2040.

• Supports for Businesses, particularly SMEs: Enhancing reliefs to allow businesses to attract and retain talent through the SARP and KEEP regimes, targeted tax measures to support industries in key sectors such as greentech and AI, improving the R&D tax credit and increasing LEO funding aid for SMEs are called for, among other measures.

“Budget 2026 cannot become another missed opportunity,” said Michelle Gallagher, CEO of Limerick Chamber. “Our submission sets out a clear, actionable plan to ensure infrastructure delivery underpins economic resilience, energy security, and regional equity. Investing in the Mid-West now is not just smart policy -it’s smart economics.”

The submission also emphasises that delays in climate-critical infrastructure – particularly offshore renewable energy will not only jeopardise Ireland’s 2030 and 2050 targets, but also cost the exchequer potentially billions in EU compliance fines. In response, Limerick Chamber is calling for urgent investment in port infrastructure at Shannon Foynes and grid improvements to enable large-scale deployment of renewables as well as a renewed focus on the Designated Maritime Area Plan for the west coast.

Despite strong economic contributions from regional cities, the Chamber points to new data showing the Mid-West receives just a fraction of per-capita capital spending compared to the East of the Country and highlights without project-level commitments in the NDP, the region risks falling further behind.

Limerick Chamber’s 400+ member organisations are united in urging Government to use Budget 2026 as a defining moment in regional infrastructure planning and climate investment.

“We’ve reached the limits of what policy rhetoric alone can fix,” Connolly concluded. “The regions are ready — Budget 2026 must ensure they’re not passengers but full partners in Ireland’s sustainable future.”