Chamber Music

An Ulster Bank official for 30 years, Mr John McNally came through the prescribed chamber structure of being deputy vice-president and vice-president before taking the helm of "the largest representative business body exclusive to Dublin".

The 215-year-old body has 2,500 members, a budget of £450,000 and a committee structure which works on projects approved by a 52-member council. Mr McNally is a member of the executive committee, along with the immediate past-president, Ms Mary Finan, and the chief executive, Mr Noel Carroll. "We formulate the policy which the council debates, and the committees drive it forward," Mr McNally says.

In its consultation document, "2010 A Vision of Dublin", the gap between the Chamber's view of the future and today's reality is wide. In 13 years, Dublin will have "a drug-free culture. . . the problem of the poverty trap will be effectively removed"; "Dublin will have a cost-efficient and effective public transport system with bus, DART, trains and LRT, as well as adequate facilities for cyclists, the mobility-impaired and disabled"; and "Dublin will be a thriving tourism destination, known globally as a city of culture and one of the sports capitals of Europe."

The 2010 document was the work "of a few years". As a consultation document, he says aspects were borrowed for Fianna Fail's manifesto. "It is very visionary and I think that is exactly the way it should be. It is something that people can dip into from time-to-time, not just the Chamber but anyone who has any influence in Dublin."

Arguably, some of the visions are more achievable than others. On the Chamber's home turf of "Enterprise, Investment & Employment", it sees a city which excels in developing business "supported by multinational and indigenous industries".

He is careful not to express views on city issues which are at variance with the Chamber's. His role, he says, is not to personalise the position. "The president is just the face of the Chamber and would articulate its position. The council makes the policies and the committees do the work.

"The Chamber has a momentum and the president brings to the Chamber a fresh impetus, and a concentration on the issues which he feels are the ones of the day."

But for him, the position's parameters suit his temperament, although he is wary of being called a facilitator, a term which in banking means "a nurse maid type of role".

"My style is certainly to work through the structure of the Chamber, and through the committees. . . it is facilitating with a large `F'."

As president, he wants to push a more caring side to the Chamber. Its involvement in the Dublin Schools Business Partnership, now a separate company, and the Inner City Dublin Partnership are projects close to his heart, aimed at "putting something back into Dublin".

He echoes the Chamber's long-standing view that the business community pays many of the bills, but gets excluded from the decision-making. It lost its representation on the Dublin Port and Docks Board and it is not represented on the steering group of the Dublin Transport Office - merely on the consultative panel along with others.

"We feel that business does not have its rightful place in developments of that type. We have made strong representations to previous ministers and were told, `No, our place was where it was'. As a business lobby, we feel we should be beyond the consultative role."

Not that increased representation is the answer to the city's ills. Mr McNally, although positive about the new City Manager, Mr John FitzGerald, has called for a debate on a revamped city management structure, a "Supremo" "with responsibility for all economic issues" and "without going through a political process".

"I think everyone would agree, if we are starting on first principles, Dublin is not managed in the way it should be," he says.

He takes the Port Tunnel as an example of a project being debated back and forward and feels that, at least, the mayor should have executive powers similar to US mayors.

"If you had a city governance as you have in the States, you would have a decision consistent with the resources that are available," he argues. "It is trying to get a better way of running Dublin than the desperate way it is being run at the moment."

Mr McNally says politicians have no forum to meet as a group "with Dublin interests at heart". "We bring politicians along to our fora and we tell them what our views are. What we are trying to achieve is action on what we think is worthwhile. . . We feel that the greater good of Dublin is being served by a strong business community, and the more successful business is, the more it benefits all communities." But he rejects the notion that business interests are insensitive to architectural heritage, civic atmosphere or cultural image. As an example, he cites the Chamber's submission to the Temple Bar authority arguing for a limit to the number of pubs in the quarter.

On the destruction of much of Dublin's architectural heritage in the 1960s and 1970s, he is defensive of the business role in this, but supportive of adequate regulation in the area.

"If the law of the land allows Georgian buildings to be demolished, I do not think businesses should be blamed for taking the opportunity . . . The Chamber would be very much for strong laws and a culture to keep Dublin's heritage intact."

The Chamber of Commerce has lobbied heavily on the Luas light rail transport issue. For Mr McNally, it is common sense that within the inner city there should be an underground system but he is satisfied that an objective assessment of the multiplicity of factors takes place.

"We are not against Luas per se . . . People in favour of Luas will quote you cities where it is already in place, but there are differences of orbital roads around the cities and street widths. Every city is unique. You cannot just import a city experience and say, `This is the way we should have it here'," he says.

The public transport system has "to be given a chance to breathe", with quality bus corridors and penalities for illegal parkers. "I think from the business perspective, what we want is people flows through the city. That includes cyclists.

"If you displace cars with a light rail system, and there is no room for cars to get through, you will just have chaos."

Privatisation of functions such as illegal parking regulation and wheel-clamping would help `Operation Freeflow', he adds.

Mr McNally wants "less burger" outlets along O'Connell Street and a more lived-in feel to it. "I have compared it to the Ramblas in Barcelona where you walk down the central line of the street.

"When people think of Barcelona, they think of the Ramblas, when people think of Dublin, I would like them to think of O'Connell Street as a place they would like to walk down. . . I feel it is a very special street. It is the main street of the capital city. It is important not just for Dublin but the country as a whole."

He feels that a business like the US department store, Gap, would do much to retrieve its charm. "If the old buildings were adapted for high-quality retailers, then people would be drawn to them."

Mr McNally has a view which harks back to the High Street window shopping days. Steel shutters, he says, should be unnecessary. "Shops should be open and lit without fear of being broken into."

Although he bemoans the fact that the proposed city convention centre has gone back to the drawing board, he refuses to be drawn on whether it is the project O'Connell Street needs. The issue is the convention centre and not its location.

"The Chamber does not have a view as to where it should be located. We are not saying it should be in O'Connell Street or anywhere else. What we want is for it to be achieved.

"We feel as a Chamber representing all the business interests that we should not prefer a location. It will life all boats and it is a local argument as to where it should be based."

He says that the perception of crime is worse than the reality, but argues for more police visibility. "It is a city in which we give prominence to the crime that occurs we talk about O'Connell Street being crime ridden."

But there is no one city which he feels Dublin should aspire to be like. All cities have their "configurations", he says. "I suppose warts and all, Dublin is a great place to be."