Mayo business woman re-elected vice chair of key FG council

The Small Business and Enterprise Council established by Fine Gael last year will continue to fight for the interests of businesses to ensure their viability and prosperity, council members have said.

The aim of the council is to enable members and supporters interested in enterprise and small business to come together to discuss policy matters with parliamentary party members.

The council’s activity this year culminated in the second Small Business and Enterprise conference held in Waterford and attended by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, senior government ministers and hundreds of businesspeople and representative groups.

The conference also coincided with the AGM of the SBE Council, where three members were re-elected and one new member was elected for the new 2023/2024 term.

The executive office holders for this term are Council chair, Kathryn Lynch; Vice Chair Martina Calvey; secretary, Prity Arora; and Public Relations Officer Chantal Kangowa.

Martina Calvey, vice chair of the council, said: “In 2023 there are 309,000 SMEs operating in Ireland, employing over 1 million people.

"The findings from the Fine Gael’s SME Council’s people-centred approach will help to provide direction for the future of SME businesses in Ireland.

“The council’s work will also assist in refining and shaping government policy to ensure Irish business is well supported and ready for a future where sustainability, decarbonisation, digitalisation, AI and inter-generational demographics become mainstream for all businesses.”

PHOTO: Martina Calvey, Mayo, pictured alongside other members of the Fine Gael Small Business and Enterprise Council, with An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Ministers Simon Coveney and Paschal Donohoe.