Comment: Our capital has its share of problems but these are grossly exaggerated by whingers

Last night, I had the pleasure of welcoming 1,100 key shareholders to the first a.g.m. of "Dublin Inc" at the Burlington Hotel in Dublin. They may have thought they were at the Dublin Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner but I wanted to reveal the balance sheet for Dublin Inc to Dublin's leading business people - and show why there's little justification for all the whinging about Dublin.

Let's be clear on the structure of Dublin Inc - the Government acts as the board of directors and the Dublin Chamber represents shareholders.

So what have we achieved and what remains to be done?

Some 192,000 new jobs were created in the Greater Dublin area between 1996 and 2002 - a growth of 35 per cent;

Dublin Inc's achievements go on but, as with most companies, there is the other side to the balance sheet:

Increasing congestion is leading to longer commute times;

crucial infrastructural projects such as the Metro, the Interconnector, the National Conference Centre, the second airport terminal and the Macken Street Bridge have disappeared off the radar;

a city famed for its sport will be forced to play its major soccer and rugby fixtures abroad from 2006-2008;

Dublin is perceived as one of the most expensive cities in the world.

So, taking all this on board, what are we left with? Many people perceive Dublin as the most expensive city in Europe and as too expensive to live in. The key word here is "perceive" - the reality is different.

What everyone seems to forget is that we may have become a more expensive major European city in the last decade, but we ourselves are much better off than we were. True, prices have risen by 23 per cent since 1998, but wages have increased by 37 per cent in the same period.

So wage increases have outpaced price rises by 14 percentage points - and that is before the effect of tax cuts is added in.

Like all great companies, Dublin Inc has a vision and a strategy to achieve that vision. Our vision is called "Dublin 2020" and, as the name suggests, it projects us forward by 16 years and what our city might look like then. It contains strategies for positioning Dublin as an internationally competitive city and as a knowledge base, and makes recommendations on what needs to be done with lifestyle and quality-of-life issues, our core infrastructure and urban governance structures

However, great companies need a strong leader with a budget. Dublin Inc needs an elected mayor to achieve our vision and drive the strategy forward.

Unfortunately, we don't have a dedicated leader for Dublin Inc at present and, as a result, commercial rates, which fund Dublin Inc's activities, have risen at double the rate of inflation over the last decade. This continued dependence on business to fill the gap between the Government's local authorities' grant and the real costs of running our city is a threat to our international competitiveness.

This is to mention nothing of the lack of transparency in the way the revenue from commercial rates is used by Dublin City Council.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not whinging without acknowledging the tremendous work the council is doing. I think the transformation of O'Connell Street and the extension of the Liffey boardwalk can be singled out as particularly impressive.

However, it is common sense that the funding burden should be spread more evenly among those who avail of the services provided by the council.

A serious negative on Dublin Inc's balance sheet is our lack of the most elementary pieces of infrastructure. Many of the new EU member countries from eastern Europe score better than we do in terms of infrastructure. Where is our Metro? Why is the planning process for the waste- to-energy facility still to be started?

Also, how much longer do we have to wait before construction work starts on the National Conference Centre? Dublin Inc loses €50 million in revenue per annum because we do not have a conference centre. The Government should not allow momentum to be lost on this essential tourism infrastructure project.

The redevelopment of Lansdowne Road is to be welcomed - but the city stands to lose €10 million in revenue per match between 2006 and 2008. Croke Park must be opened up to rugby and soccer during this time.

In quality-of-life issues, childcare must be addressed - and it will be the main focus of the chamber's Budget submission, on behalf of the shareholders of Dublin Inc.

All in all, as one of Europe's premier capitals, shares in Dublin Inc are a good buy - as long as issues such as the Conference Centre, Metro, Croke Park, an elected mayor and the others mentioned above are addressed.

David Pierce is president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.