At the 21st Colmcille Winter School ‘Building Our Future’ in Gartan, Co Donegal, on Sat 27th February 2010, Frank Ryan, CEO Enterprise Ireland, highlighted the vision, drive, commitment and determination shown by the business, education and wider community in Donegal in dealing with the unprecedented challenges they face, preparing for the economic upturn and ‘Building Our Future’. He re-iterated Enterprise Ireland’s commitment to the county and the region and to continuing to work vigorously to secure the economic vitality and progress of the area.

Speaking at the event Mr Ryan said: “I am greatly heartened by the tremendous tenacity and innovative thinking I see in Irish people on a daily basis. They are applying creativity and determination to secure the future success of their communities and to stay in business. The challenges are clear. How we perform in exports, competitiveness, innovation, leadership and entrepreneurship will determine our future. And on all fronts, Donegal shows clearly that we can win.

“Donegal is embracing all of these challenges in the drive to achieve real impact on the economic and social front. There are many good things happening that confirm this. On Innovation, Donegal is the fourth biggest user of innovation vouchers in the country, indicating that innovation is alive and well in the county with over 100 vouchers approved to Donegal companies since the inception of the vouchers scheme in mid 2007. This means that these companies can access the expertise and knowledge within the third level sector including Letterkenny IT to the value of more than €500,000. The innovative capabilities in E & I Engineering in Burnfoot, who specialise in electrical switchgear and quality busbar trunking is another excellent example of local innovation. E & I continues to develop and grow the business - mainly in export markets like the Middle East and the UK.”

On Leadership, Donegal companies are very much part of Enterprise Ireland’s International Selling Programme and Executive MBA Programme for the Seafood sector, two initiatives aimed at building leadership and export performance, and helping companies win new export business. Killybegs was highlighted as having a strong indigenous sector of companies working in specialised engineering sectors and also in the seafood sector. Mr Ryan referred to the major contract recently won by Swan Net Gundry to re-kit and overhaul five ocean going trawlers for the Pacific Andes Fleet bringing significant business to local Irish companies in Killybegs.

On Entrepreneurship, start-up business activity in Ireland is one of the strongest in the world and, right across the spectrum of business activity, Donegal entrepreneurs are carving out a niche for new and innovative products, competing successfully in export markets and creating jobs at home. Enterprise Ireland supports start-up companies and entrepreneurs through a series of local workshops and one to one mentoring including a full time enterprise development programme called the Propel Programme.

“The 13 Community Enterprise Centres across the county provide the infrastructure for small business to develop in their local environment and the newly built Co Lab Incubation facilities at Letterkenny IT is a critical part of the economic infrastructure. All are contributing significantly to supporting the entrepreneurial culture in Donegal. Likewise, Letterkenny IT is driving the innovation agenda and supporting new spin out companies that can successfully commercialise third level research”, Mr Ryan said.

Mr Ryan congratulated Martin Egan and all involved with the success of the Colmcille Winter School and their combined endeavours in building Donegal’s economic future. “I do not want to underestimate the challenges we face this year, but I believe there are real opportunities to be grasped. We are all working to sustain viable and successful businesses and communities and help them prepare for the next upturn. It is a common challenge for all of us, and it demands a united response. I can guarantee you of the support and commitment of Enterprise Ireland and our team in Letterkenny, working in partnership with IDA Ireland, the Donegal County Enterprise Board, other agencies and the education sector to maximise the benefits to our clients and to Donegal.”

ENDS

For further information:

Méabh Conaghan, Enterprise Ireland, Port Road, Letterkenny, Co Donegal

Tel: +353 74 916 9829 / 9800
Fax:+ 353 74 916 9801
Mob: +353 87 638 0147