Dear ,

Welcome to this week's issue of Dublin Chamber Weekly. This issue includes details of all the great virtual events we have coming up for you over the coming weeks. There's also news of exciting new plans announced by Dublin City Council for College Green and the Grafton Street area, plus details of the latest version of the BusConnects plan.

Don't forget, if you have any company news or offers that you'd like to see featured in Dublin Chamber Weekly, please send it to us. 

We hope you enjoy this week's issue.

Dublin City Council has today published details of plans to pedestrianise part of Dame Street as part of its proposal to create a plaza on College Green. The Council has put forward two potential options and is now seeking feedback from citizens and businesses in Dublin to further inform the design process. A public consultation is now open and feedback can be submitted until the 15th of January. Dublin Chamber encourages members to look at the Council's proposals, which can be found here, and to let us know what you think. Your feedback will help shape the Chamber's submission regarding the plans. Please contact us at: policy@dublinchamber.ie. 

Virtual networking opportunities and expert financial advice will be on offer tomorrow (Friday 6th) at our Virtual Business Network event.

Kicking off at 12 Noon, the event will see Paddy Andrews, Dublin footballer and Private Client Manager with Metis Ireland, offer expert tips to keep you and your business in great financial shape. Paddy will also discuss 10 tips to take care of your future while you're taking care of business. Register here.

The third round of public consultation on the 16 core bus corridors proposed under BusConnects has been launched. The new proposals can be found here. The Core Bus Corridor Projects will see the roll-out of 230km of continuous bus priority and 200km of cycle routes. The public consultation focuses on the updated Preferred Route Options of all sixteen corridors. Over recent months the NTA has been making refinements along each corridor to take into account feedback received by the public and businesses. Consultation on the proposals runs until the 16th of December. We'd welcome your feedback on the proposals to help shape Dublin Chamber's submission. Send any comments to policy@dublinchamber.ie. 

Dublin City Council is proposing the permanent pedestrianisation of several streets in the Grafton Street area. This follows a series of weekend trials during the summer months. A total of four streets - South Anne Street, Dame Court, Drury Street and South William Street - are to be wholly or partially pedestrianised from 11am. The proposals, which can be read in full here, are now out to consultation. We'd welcome your views on the plans to policy@dublinchamber.ie.

Due to phenomenal demand, we are delighted to announce that we are running another Tender Training workshop on Thursday 12th of November from 9am to 1pm. The virtual session will once again be facilitated by Ireland's foremost procurement expert Peter Brennan and will follow his Bid Services Tender Training Excellence Programme. The workshop is aimed at sole traders, small businesses and SMEs who wish to secure a share of the €90 billion in public works, supplies and services that will be procured by the Irish Government over the next five years. More details here.

Digital transformation for SMEs, partnering for success, and buying versus building will be just some of the topics up for discussion at our Leveraging Ecosystems for Growth in Uncertain Times event, being held in partnership with Grant Thornton, on Tuesday 17th November @ 12 noon. Joining us to share expert advice will be Trevor Dunne who leads Grant Thornton’s Digital Transformation and Technology practice, Hesus Inoma, who heads the FinTech service offering at Grant Thornton Ireland, and Brian O’Dwyer, who is part of Grant Thornton’s Financial Services Advisory unit. Register here.

More than 40 businesses have signed up for Dublin Chamber's new #SupportLocal Business Directory - a dedicated page on our website which showcases all the great local businesses that are selling online.

Supporting local businesses has never been more important. The introduction of Level 5 lockdown restrictions has dealt a huge blow to the small business community in Dublin, with many retailers, traders, hospitality firms and local producers forced to close their physical doors. Yet, a large number of these businesses remain open for business via their online stores.

To help consumers to find their way to their websites, we've launched the #SupportLocal Business Directory. This page will act as a first port of call for anyone looking to support local businesses when buying online over the coming weeks.

If you'd like to have your company added to our listing, please fill out your details here.  Play your part: #SupportLocal

We have two Google Digital Garage Series workshops coming up over the coming weeks.

The focus will be on Global Business Expansion on Wednesday 11th of November (12:30pm), when Liam Higgins, International Growth Specialist with Google UK/Ireland will join us to discuss how to 'Define your International Growth Strategy and Build your Export Operations'. Liam will discuss the benefits of expanding your business into new markets and the opportunities that come with it. He will work through the steps you will need to take to find the right target area and help you to create and export a plan. Register here. 

On Wednesday 18th November, our Google Garage Series will bring you a workshop that will advise you on how to Scale your Brand and Advertise Across Borders. During this workshop, the trainer will discuss how to use data to target the right audiences and build your brand so that your business can take the steps required to become known globally. Register here. 

The Dublin Chamber Sustainability Academy, sponsored by AIB, had a number of great workshops over the past number of weeks. We would like to say a huge thank you to our trainers from Clearstream Solutions and Bid Services for providing our members with excellent content.Thank also to the 80+ attendees who have taken part in our workshops so far. We will be announcing details of more Sustainability Academy workshops soon - please keep an eye on our website for details.

Did you miss out on one of our great webinars this week? Don't worry, we have got you covered! 

On Monday we were joined by Professor Luke O’Neill of Trinity College Dublin for a hugely entertaining episode of our Monday Wellness webinar. A regular media contributor and now very much a household name, Professor O’Neill spoke discussed how we can all stay positive through the Covid-19 pandemic and adapt to the new normal. Watch it back here.

On Wednesday we were Talking Jobs & Retail with Damien English TD, Minister of State for Employment Affairs and Retail Businesses. Minister English discussed how businesses are coping with the Level 5 restrictions and what the Government is doing to support firms that have been forced to close. He also spoke about the likelihood of restrictions being lifted to allow shops to re-open in time for Christmas. Watch the session back here.

The Department for the Environment, Climate, and Communications is holding a public consultation on possible models for a Deposit and Return Scheme (DRS) for beverage containers, an initiative that will reduce single use containers and help move Ireland towards a more circular economy. 

If you have any thoughts or feedback on what you would like to see from a DRS, please send them to sinead@dublinchamber.ie. You can view further details on the DRS public consultation, which closes on the 12th of November here.

Smurfit Kappa CFO Ken Bowles will be the guest speaker at our Leaders series - Leading the change event on Friday 20th November at 12 noon. Ken will share an overview of his career journey, personal leadership style and the leadership challenges he faces in an ever-transforming industry. Register now! 

**Please note this event is only open to senior decision makers from Dublin Chamber’s Corporate members

If you've got your eyes on expanding in to the Far East, you won't want to miss our special briefing on Thursday 19th November at 12 Noon. During this session, experts will provide updates on the current business trends in Hong Kong. You'll also learn about the Hong Kong Trade Development Council's latest platforms that are set up to help Irish businesses continue to trade (sell and source) during the Covid-19 pandemic. Book now.