SHANNON AIRPORT is a strong focus of Limerick Chamber’s submission to the Government in advance of the Budget.
Prioritising balanced regional development is the central theme of the submission by Limerick Chamber titled, ‘Sustainable Infrastructure, Sustainable Growth’.
A top priority in the submission is the addition of greater international links for Shannon Airport.
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.
Limerick Chamber has also called 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.
Budget 2026 is a pivotal moment in Ireland’s economic journey, with unprecedented headwinds due to tariffs and a backdrop of global conflict, Limerick Chamber maintained. It has called for the introduction of measures to support businesses, SMEs in particular, as “Ireland Inc” seeks to reduce reliance on a small number of taxpayers.
“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”.
CEO of Limerick Chamber, Michelle Gallagher flagged, “Budget 2026 cannot become another missed opportunity. 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”.
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”.
