Galway comes out top of business class
Galway has been recognised as the best performing city and county in Ireland in the latest Subnational Business Ready report, reinforcing its reputation as one of the most attractive locations for business, investment and entrepreneurship.
The research was coordinated by Chambers Ireland and involved experts across the Chamber Network, providing a comparative assessment of the business environment across five Irish cities – Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.
It benchmarks regulatory performance in five key areas – Business Entry, Business Location, Utility Services, Dispute Resolution, and Business Insolvency.
The presentation of findings was conducted in-person in Washington DC and virtually.
During this session, the World Bank team presented the findings and benchmarking data, followed by a discussion and Q&A with relevant stakeholders.
The report highlights Galway’s exceptional performance across key business indicators, with particularly strong results in Business Entry and Utility Services, where the city achieved some of the highest scores in its peer group.
Galway scored 87% in Business Entry and 84% in Utility Services, reflecting a highly efficient, transparent and digitally enabled environment for starting and operating a business.
Galway has the highest overall score 73.2 and shows strong consistency, leading in Business Location and scoring above average across topics.
The findings demonstrate that Galway offers a streamlined and cost-effective process for company formation, supported by strong digital public services and regulatory frameworks.
The report also highlights the city’s high-quality infrastructure and reliable utility services, which are critical enablers of business growth and international competitiveness.
This research was supported by Galway Chamber directors working across the legal and finance landscape.
Commenting on the results, Karen Ronan, CEO described Galway’s performance in this report as ‘a strong endorsement of the collaborative efforts of our public and private sector partners’.
“It reflects our ongoing commitment to making Galway one of the most business-friendly and innovative locations in Europe,” she said.