Dublin companies press for cost reform

Dublin Chamber says companies across the capital remain under sustained pressure from rising costs, with new survey findings showing 80% are concerned about cost pressures against a backdrop of increased geopolitical uncertainty and 71% believe existing Government supports are insufficient.

The figures come from the Chamber’s Q1 2026 Business Outlook Survey, which places cost control firmly at the centre of business planning in Dublin. While short-term measures such as responses to energy price spikes remain part of the discussion, the Chamber argues that businesses are increasingly focused on structural issues that raise operating costs over time rather than temporary shocks alone.

Aebhric McGibney, Director of Public and International Affairs at Dublin Chamber, said “The focus now is on short term measures to ease costs, such as energy price spikes. These are welcome, but it is essential that they do not come at the expense of long-term strategic priorities. For us, we believe more fundamental reform is required to tackle inbuilt red tape and overengineered bureaucracy and overzealous compliance with regulation. There is an EU commitment to cut administrative burdens by 25% for businesses (and 35% for SMEs) by 2029. We’d like to see Ireland at least match and ideally beat that commitment”.

The Chamber said businesses are contending with several layers of administrative pressure, including real-time reporting requirements for expenses and benefits under the Enhanced Reporting Requirements regime, as well as complex grant-application processes involving Government departments and State agencies. It also pointed to the Revenue Commissioners issuing 256 eBriefs in 2025 as an example of the pace and volume of compliance material businesses are expected to absorb.

The argument emerging from the survey is that cost pressure is no longer being framed simply through wages, energy, or financing conditions. Administrative complexity is being treated as a direct commercial burden in its own right, particularly for organisations already managing uncertainty around regulation and geopolitics.

That leaves the Chamber pressing for a deeper policy response focused on reducing friction inside the system, rather than relying only on targeted reliefs. For Dublin businesses, the question is increasingly whether the operating environment can become simpler as well as cheaper.