Ibec energy survey, latest political outreach, and updates on Collective Bargaining

Dear member,

It has been another busy week here in Ibec, with Tuesday’s Budget announcement from Government to the fore. There were many positives for business, notably the announcement of a €1.4 billion package of energy supports for businesses, covering all sectors, both domestic and internationally traded. Since March, Ibec has been lobbying for state interventions to help businesses through this challenging period and will continue to work with Government to ensure these measures and more are delivered to business effectively.

However, the scale of the energy crisis means that further supports may be needed into 2023. A key challenge for Government in developing and designing these supports is their lack of quality data on business exposure to energy costs. This means vulnerable business could be overlooked. 

To help address this significant data blind spot and inform our lobbying, we are asking you to complete the short survey. Respondents will also receive the aggregated results which will help with future energy planning.

To complete the survey, you will need detail on your past and planned spend on electricity and gas, hedging terms, and the impact rising costs are having on your profitability and operations.  You can share the survey link with a colleague

in a better position to answer these questions.  Company level information will be kept fully confidential. The survey should take 10 minutes to complete and will be live until next Monday 10 October.  You can access the survey here. [UPDATE: PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO FRIDAY 21ST OCTOBER].

This information is urgently needed, and I encourage as many firms as possible to complete the survey.

Earlier today, Ibec Global hosted a special event in Trinity College Dublin with Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, the EU Commissioner for Competition and Chair of the Commissioners' group on a Europe Fit for the Digital Age. With over 200 business leaders and societal stakeholders in attendance, it was an engaging event that heard how embracing digital policy leadership can play a crucial in weathering emerging social, economic and environmental challenges. We will be publishing an Ibec Voices podcast next week that captures the highlights from the meeting so stayed tuned.

A reminder that Ibec’s team of economists have delved into what Budget 2023 means for business and you can review their insights and analysis, including a link to a special Budget 2023 episode of Ibec Voices podcast, here.

Finally, we expect Government to publish its report from the High-Level Group on collective bargaining and the industrial relations framework, working under the auspices of the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF), early next week. Ibec has engaged extensively in this process recognising the changing labour market dynamics, domestically, internationally and in light of the proposed EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages.  We have a briefing scheduled for next Wednesday 5 October at midday to outline the recommendations and address any queries that you have. You can register for this event by using the link here.

As always, if you have any queries please get in touch.

Regards,

Danny McCoy

CEO

Ibec