Fantastic news from Minister Bruton..

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, today [Thursday] launched a €10 million International Start-Up Fund, aimed at encouraging overseas entrepreneurs to locate start-up businesses in Ireland:

·        The fund will be administered by Enterprise Ireland and will be open to company promoters anywhere in the world, but will be targeted particularly at the Irish diaspora, international expatriates, the “New Diaspora” (people from overseas who have previously worked or studied in Ireland), as well as serial and mobile entrepreneurs
·        Key geographical targets will include North America, UK, Europe and Australia
·        Key target sectors include Internet, Games, Cloud Computing, Medtech and Financial Services sectors
·        The fund will target investor-ready projects seeking between €200,000 and €500,000
·        Funding will be in the form of an equity stake taken by the State in the company

To support the marketing of the fund overseas Enterprise Ireland will be appointing a number of high profile successful Irish entrepreneurs to act as International Start Up Ambassadors.  Dylan Collins, one of the most experienced Internet entrepreneurs in Europe, is one of the first to accept the role of fund Ambassador.

Announcing the fund, Minister Bruton said:

“This Government’s ambition is not only to turn the country around and get employment growing again, but to once again create a dynamic economy that is the envy of the world and has over two million people at work.

“This will not be easy, but one key strand of our new industrial strategy will be to create a genuine indigenous engine of growth. As I have said before, our ambition must not only be to attract the next Google or Microsoft to Ireland, but we must also seek to grow the next Google or Microsoft in Ireland. Indigenous companies provide proportionally more than three times more benefit to the Irish economy than multinational companies.

“Today’s announcement is a direct intervention by government to create more start-up companies here. Across the world, many of the start-up companies which go on to succeed and create jobs are driven by people within a small class of mobile, innovative, serial entrepreneurs. What the Irish Government is saying very clearly today to the international technology community gathered in Dublin is – come and start your company in Ireland, we are open for business, and we will support you”.

“There is no reason why Ireland should not be a global centre for international start-ups. We already have a growing number of mobile start-ups locating here, and with strong Government supports, a business-friendly environment, a deep pool of skills as well as all the benefits that come with a base of multinational companies that is the envy of the world”.

Commenting on the new initiative Frank Ryan, Enterprise Ireland Chief Executive said:

‘Stimulating the flow of new High Potential Start-Ups and supporting their growth are fundamental building blocks in Enterprise Ireland’s strategy for economic growth and job creation.  We want mobile entrepreneurs to locate their businesses in Ireland and to see Enterprise Ireland as their dedicated partner.

‘The addition of the €10m fund provides a core offering around which the rest of our overseas entrepreneurship marketing and promotion efforts will be centred.  The attraction of overseas entrepreneurs to Ireland is an important opportunity to expand our start up activity and they will significantly add to the diversity and skill-base of the Irish start up community’.

Dylan Collins, Irish serial entrepreneur who has established highly successful companies in various countries, said:

“I am delighted to be the first international ambassador for this start up fund. It’s an excellent way to build on Ireland’s position as one of the leading startup hubs in Europe. If you’re in a startup anywhere in the world which has international ambition, you need to come and talk to us right now”.

Louis Ravenet, a serial US entrepreneur who earlier this year set up his company 2PaperDolls in Ireland, commented on what motivated him to move his business to Ireland:

“Ireland has a number of advantages for an early-stage business – it’s efficient, highly networked, co-operative and it is extremely refreshing that there isn’t a ‘hold cards close to the chest’ attitude here.  2PaperDolls is growing and we have found skilled software developers in good supply in the Irish market.  And from a cost perspective, Ireland is a great place to do business – you have the low corporate tax rate and it’s inexpensive compared to other world-class capital cities for office space, housing, schools and getting around”.

To find out more about the International Start Up Fund and Ireland as a location for your business visit: www.startinireland.com

To apply for the fund contact:
Start in Ireland Enquiry Desk, Tel: +353 1 7272140, startinireland@enterprise-ireland.com

Today representative from NAMA appeared before the PAC. To watch the proceedings click here, to watch my contribution scroll to 29.44.

Following the severe flooding in Dublin South-East last night, Eoghan Murphy requested that the Ceann Comhairle make this a priority topic for discussions in the Dáil today. Due to the importance of this issue, and requests made by other TD’s in the Dublin and Wicklow areas, special time was afforded to debate this issue. Responding to Minister Brian Hayes, Eoghan said the following:

I do not believe this is only about money.  We must acknowledge that the local authority in Dublin city is no longer the correct responsible authority to deal with emergency responses in this city.  Deputy Costello has already alluded to the lack of response from the local council last night.  I can only outline my own experience.  I tried to telephone officials at 9 p.m. last night but the emergency response number for the city council was down.  When I managed to get somebody on their private mobile phone, they were not even aware that the number was down.  I went onto the website but there was no indication that the number was down, nor was there any indication of the road closures or transport disruptions that had been occurring in the city for approximately four hours.

When I went to Gordon Street with Councillor Kieran Binchy I found Deputy Humphreys there helping residents to sandbag their homes.  I did not see any council officials.  I learned that the flooding of those homes could have been averted had the council acted more quickly, but at that stage it had not acted at all.  I commend Deputy Humphreys for what he did.  The people there owe him a debt of gratitude for the effort he put in.  It was something to see.

I then went to Newbridge Avenue to see the flood defence walls along the Dodder.  The floodgates were still open, although it was between 9.30 p.m. and 10 p.m.  The residents and fire crews were trying to close them and when they did, they found they could not lock them because they did not have the correct keys.  When the council officials arrived, they did not have them either.  We can spend all the money in the world, and we have spent €3 million on the flood defence wall on this stretch of the Dodder, but that type of incompetence renders flood defences meaningless and useless.  The local authority must hold up its hands and explain why those gates were not closed.  People telephoned Dublin City Council in the afternoon to recommend that they be closed as a precautionary measure, but that did not happen.

Businesses in this city pay rates; in Dublin, 25% of the businesses nationally pay 50% of the total amount of rates to local authorities.  Is the local authority the correct authority to protect their properties and businesses in this regard?  Can we turn to home owners and ask them to pay rates to a council that cannot protect their properties?  I realise the Minister cannot answer these questions directly but it is incredibly important that the local authority does.  I believe its representatives should appear before an Oireachtas committee and answer these questions.  If they have explanations, they should give them and if they do not, they should put their hands up.  I recommend that the Minister consider a proper emergency response plan for this city, one that does not fall to the responsibility of the local authority in the city.

To watch today’s proceedings click here

To watch the proceedings click here and to watch my contribution scroll to o1.23.56.

Click here to watch the proceedings and scroll to 02.00 for my contribution.

I thank Deputy Brendan Griffin for sharing his time. It is particularly gracious of him, given recent events in Croke Park.

Deputy Griffin touched upon a number of aspects. He made the point of having a 12-month tourism cycle and I agree with him that this is crucial. There is no reason not to have tourists coming to Ireland in every month of the year and in large numbers. Attractions such as Christmas markets in small towns is one excellent suggestion.

I wish to speak about a particular aspect of tourism, activity-based or sports tourism, where people travel to take part in sporting events around the country, whether a marathon, a half marathon or a triathlon. Before I became involved so actively in politics, I used to participate regularly in such sporting events. I have been to Achill and Killarney and twice to Westport. I have also travelled to the UK and to France for events.

This sports market sector of tourism is very significant as competitors spend a lot of money. There is the money spent on travelling abroad to an event or travelling to a domestic event. The kit and the registration all costs money and accommodation costs must also be catered for. I will give an example of my own expenditure. Last year I participated in the Gael Force adventure triathlon in Killary Harbour. The entrance fee for the competition was €100; I spent €200 on accommodation for two nights and another €200 during the course of the weekend. This amounts to €500 spent in Westport and only because the race was being held there. I was accompanied by a number of friends and that resulted in €4,000 being spent in Westport. Three of my friends had travelled from the UK so this was new money into Ireland. The race attracted 3,000 competitors. If each competitor spent as much as I spent that weekend, this amounts to more than €1 million into the Westport economy in one weekend.

This is a very lucrative event for the area of Westport and the town is to be commended on branding itself as a destination for activity events. These events provide a new opening for tourism revenue. Money came into the town of Westport during the Gael Force festival and this came from first-time visitors and those from abroad and also repeat visitors. For instance, once I had visited the town I was prepared to return on further visits and a few months later I returned to compete in a 10 km adventure race called Turf Guy. I am hoping to compete again this year. This event will bring more money into Westport.
Competitors in these events are young with a high disposable income. They may not have mortgage costs or dependants and they can spend their money on sporting activities. Ireland should be marketed as a destination for more international sporting events and sports tourism as this could provide significant revenue from people with high disposable incomes who spend their money in a way that is good for them and good for the local economies. I know the Minister of State is aware of my views but anything he can do in this regard would be very welcome.

The Volvo Ocean Race will be held next year. I wish the Chinese-Irish team the best of luck. I wished them well as they sailed from the River Liffey. I applaud the initiative on the part of the tourist board and the race will be a great event for Ireland. This is the type of event we should encourage and use to our advantage. I attended a Diaspora Matters event a few nights ago which was to highlight our networks abroad, of which the Volvo Ocean Race is another example. There are so many Irish people and those with Irish links living all over the world and they are all willing to become involved in related events and activities, to play a part in the renewal of the country and to help attract people to the country. This Bill is an important measure and along with other initiatives from the Minister’s Department, it is very welcome.

New project to provide more than 200 jobs for local and national construction firms, and up to 30 full-time and contractor jobs once operational.

30^th September 2011
Mr Richard Bruton, TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, today announced that Google has acquired 11 acres of land and an existing building on Dublin’s Profile Park and will soon begin construction work on a highly energy-efficient data centre.  A data centre is a specialised building full of computers that run online services such as the Google search engine, Gmail and Google Maps.

Once complete, the facility will rank amongst the most energy-efficient data centres in the world. Google will use advanced air-cooling technology that has been tested and perfected at Google’s existing rented datacenter facility in Dublin. This technology takes advantage of Ireland’s naturally cool climate and uses outside air to cool computers instead of costly and energy-hungry air-conditioning units.

Google will invest up to 75 million Euros in the acquisition, build and fit out of its new facility, and will provide work for over 200 people from local and national firms at the peak of the construction phase. The contractors have already been selected after taking part in a competitive bid process.

Once operational, the centre will employ up to 30 people in a variety of full-time and contractor roles, including computer technicians, electrical and mechanical engineers, and catering and security staff. The new data centre will be in addition to Google’s existing rented datacenter facility in Dublin, which will continue to operate. Google already employs over 2,000 people in Dublin, and last year also bought three major office buildings in central Dublin, including Dublin’s tallest commercial office building, Montevetro.

Minister Bruton said: “As I have said repeatedly, the global cloud computing industry offers Ireland a massive opportunity for jobs and economic growth. I am determined that government will act decisively to seize that opportunity, and that is why I have established a cross-government implementation group to ensure that prompt action occurs.”

He continued: “The decision by Google, one of the most important multinational companies in Ireland, to locate a state-of-the-art data centre in Dublin is an endorsement of our policies in this area, and a sign of what is possible if we continue our focus”.

“We’re very happy to continue investing in Ireland and to build out our presence here even further,” said John Herlihy, head of Google Ireland. “The new data centre will be one of the most energy-efficient in Google’s global fleet. This investment further strengthens our presence here, and I’d like to thank IDA Ireland for the assistance they gave us in selecting this site.”

Watch the proceedings here.

Need for additional funding shows start-up spirit alive and well in Ireland.

Minister for Small Business, John Perry TD, yesterday, Wednesday 28^th September, announced the provision of an additional €3.1million to the County and City Enterprise Boards directly to fund job creation projects in the remaining months of 2011. The additional funding is provided from savings elsewhere in the Minister’s Department, and is provided in response to specific requests from CEBs. The funding is additional to the €15million already provided to CEBs in 2011.

The Minister made the announcement to the Small Business Advisory Forum, which he chaired this morning.

Making the announcement, Minister Perry said:

“If we are to get out of this crisis, it is crucial that we strive in every way possible to encourage the start-up and expanding businesses that will create the jobs of the future. The County and City Enterprise Boards around the country have a key role to play in providing much-needed capital for these businesses. This year a number of CEBs have indicated that they would not have sufficient funding to respond to the needs of start-ups in their area, and so the Department sought to make savings in other areas to provide funding for these vital businesses.

“I am delighted to announce as a result that we will be providing an additional €3.1million for start-up and expanding businesses. This funding will go to the 28 CEBs which are experiencing additional demand for their services, and will directly fund projects that will create over 400 jobs around the country.

“It is very encouraging that 28 CEBs has sufficient demand from projects in their area to justify these requests, and this shows that the start-up spirit is alive and well in Ireland. The provision of this additional funding to support businesses is further evidence of the Government’s commitment to the small business sector, and ensures that resources are targeted at those CEBs where demand is greatest”.

Each CEB has also examined the funding it currently has available and whether it already has sufficient money to cover the projects coming to them seeking funding over the rest of the year.  Arising from this, 7 Boards concluded that they had sufficient funds available to them in 2011.