Ibec Open for Business Campaign

Why Ibec’s Open for Business campaign is the most critical HR strategy you didn't know you needed.

For HR leaders, the boundary between societal issues and workplace issues is rapidly dissolving. As Danny McCoy, CEO of Ibec, recently noted, workplaces do not exist in a vacuum; they are microcosms of the society that surrounds them.

When the social fabric outside our office walls frays, the impact is felt directly at our desks, on our factory floors, and in our recruitment pipelines. This is why Ibec’s new Open for Business campaign is not just a public affairs or social policy initiative, it is a vital call to action for every people leader in Ireland.

The HR headache: A "toxic cocktail" of division

Ireland has spent decades building a global identity as a beacon of progressiveness and inclusivity. However, we are facing a growing undercurrent of intolerance, manifesting as anti-immigrant sentiment, anti-LGBT+ hostility, and xenophobia.

For HR, the consequences of this shift are existential:

• The safety crisis: We are seeing LGBTQ+ employees looking over their shoulders and people of colour feeling unsafe in their own communities. It is impossible to build high-performing, inclusive teams if your people do not feel safe once they leave the building.
• The talent drain: Skilled professionals, nurses, engineers, chefs, are no longer just asking about tax rates or the cost of living; they are asking, "Am I welcome here?’. If mobile talent decides Ireland is ‘closed,’ they will leave, and they will not return.
• Innovation stagnation: Innovation requires cognitive diversity, which only flourishes when individuals feel psychologically safe to challenge the status quo.

The demographic ticking clock

Beyond the moral imperative, there is a hard economic reality that HR professionals know better than anyone - the numbers don't lie.

The Department of Finance has highlighted a ‘demographic ticking clock’. With our worker-to-pensioner ratio heading toward 2:1 and a care sector facing a 60% increase in demand by 2040, we are entirely reliant on migration to ‘keep the lights on’. Without it, our local labour force enters structural decline from 2035. Intolerance is essentially a tax on our future that we cannot afford to pay.

Ibec’s Open for Business campaign is a strategic initiative to counter these divisive narratives and reinforce Ireland’s commitment to openness. Business remains a trusted institution in Ireland, giving HR leaders a unique platform to drive change.

What the campaign delivers for you:

• Resources for support: Ibec is developing specific resources to support businesses and employees affected by abuse or misinformation.
• Data & advocacy: The campaign will provide market research demonstrating business support for inclusive policies, helping you make the internal business case for D&I investment.
• Leadership voices: A new suite of podcasts called Courageous Leaders will launch to amplify positive narratives.
• A collaborative hub: An online hub with case studies will launch in Q1 2026, offering practical examples of how diversity drives economic success.

Take action today

We cannot let Ireland become a society that looks inward, obsessed with dividing a shrinking pie rather than baking a larger one together.

As HR leaders, you are the guardians of culture. Engaging with this campaign is about more than corporate social responsibility; it is about protecting your talent pipeline and ensuring your organisation remains a place where people can build a life, be themselves, and belong. It’s also being part of an important collective of positive voices that say no to the type of society in Ireland that will damage not only Brand Ireland, but our way of life and our values.

Join the coalition and help us prove that Ireland remains an open, inclusive society.

Kara McGann, Head of Skills & Social Policy