Ministers give update to business community at Chamber of Commerce event
21 January 2026
Chief, Deputy Chief & Enterprise Ministers speak at 3 Ministers briefing
More than 140 representatives from across the business community attended Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce’s annual 3 Ministers breakfast briefing.
The event at the Comis Hotel on Friday [Jan 16th] opened with introductions by Rebecca George (Chamber CEO); Claire Watterson (Chamber President); and James Smeed, Group Financial Director, Manx Financial Group representing event sponsor Conister Bank. This was followed by speeches from Chief Minister Alf Cannan MHK, Enterprise Minister Tim Johnston MHK, and Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Justice & Home Affairs Jane Poole-Wilson MHK.
Claire Watterson closed the breakfast briefing by thanking the Ministers for attending the event and continuing to engage with the business community. She also thanked event sponsor Conister Bank for their continued support for Chamber.
In more detail
The Chief Minister gave an update about economic challenges and opportunities, and said his government remained committed to focusing on policies to promote economic growth in the nine months that remain before the General Election. Highlights of his speech included the announcement of a National AI Office, soon to be followed by a National AI Strategy. While there were challenges, he said, it was important to note that the Island remailed a strong and stable jurisdiction, as noted in the recent confirmation of the Aa3 rating by Moody’s.
The Enterprise Minister spoke about his department’s achievements during the current administration, and those of the executive agencies it runs. Looking ahead, he said the department was leading a review of the government’s Economic Strategy.
Jane Poole-Wilson MHK spoke about ongoing work being done by the Home Affairs department to strengthen border security, policing and the Island’s criminal justice system to address organised crime and other growing threats.
All three Ministers commented about the importance of the Island achieving a positive MONEYVAL evaluation in October this year, plans being put in place to give the Island the best possible chance of a positive assessment, and the risks of a poor assessment and the negative outcomes that would result if the Island was grey-listed.
The Ministers then took part in a Q&A session chaired by Claire Watterson. Key topics raised included:
- Concerns about the minimum wage increase due to come into effect in April, and government measures to help business’ concerns.
- Government efficiency and controlling public spending
- Concerns about declining revenues from key GDP sectors, especially gaming
- What government is doing to attract inward investment, especially high net worth individuals.
- Skills shortages, airport problems and other factors eroding confidence amongst the business community