Minister O’Donovan TD Addresses AmCham Members at Mid-West Dinner

Patrick O’Donovan TD, Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, was Guest of Honour at AmCham’s Mid-West Dinner which was sponsored by Deloitte.

Minister O’Donovan spoke to attendees about the benefits Ireland offers to businesses located here as a country based in the EU “we are an open economy into which we have a stable economy and a stable tax base, good talent, good universities”. He continued while there are challenges Ireland has “the financial resources that no other country in the European union has”.

Looking at Ireland on the global stage Minister O’Donovan spoke about the strength of US-Ireland relations with the recent NFL game in Ireland “The NFL game there recently was off the charts. It was the largest number of travelling Americans to any NFL game, anywhere in Europe ever.” He also acknowledged that the upcoming Ryder Cup in Limerick will be “the biggest sporting event in the world in 2027”.

Minister O’Donovan also spoke about the strength of the Mid-West regions third-level institutions including Limerick University, Technological University of the Shannon and Mary Immaculate College as they are producing “graduates who are coming from all over, not just all over Munster but all over the country and further afield and making Limerick and the Mid-West their home.”

Looking to the future of the region, Minister O’Donovan spoke of some of the infrastructure projects coming down the pipeline that will enhance the Mid-West region including the Adare bypass and the reopening of the Shannon-Foynes railway which will allow us “to use the deep water in Foynes as we have “never been able to use before.”

Attendees at AmCham’s Mid-West Dinner also heard from AmCham President Liz Cunningham who spoke about the strength of FDI employment in the Mid-West region. She said “in 2024, there were more than 27,000 people employed by FDI companies in the Mid-West region — a 16% increase on five years earlier.”

Liz also highlighted the research and innovation ecosystem being developed and strengthened in the Mid-West region. She noted that “University of Limerick’s researchers ranked among the top 2 percent of scientists globally" and that the Mid-West region is home to world-class research centres such as "Lero, CONFIRM, and Digital Manufacturing Ireland, to name but a few."

She also pointed out that this research and innovation ecosystem will be “further strengthened by the announcement in Budget 2026 that Ireland’s R&D tax credit will increase from 30 percent to 35 percent — a key ask of AmCham and our members.”

AmCham was also delighted to present its 2025 Mid-West Region Cairdeas Award to CRITICAL Charity which was accepted by David Tighe, CEO of CRITICAL Charity and Jim O’Kelly Beneficiary of CRITICAL Charity.