10,000 jobs target for Ireland's first green economic zone An tSlí Ghlas

The goal of An tSlí Ghlas - The Green Way is to position Ireland as a centre of Cleantech innovation and enterprise which will link business to investors and develop trade partnerships with other major international green corridors.

European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn said; "Ireland is extremely well placed to become a global innovation hub. Against the backdrop of the serious economic and financial crisis, and the implementation of austerity measures in many countries, I am more convinced than ever that innovation is the key to a stable European economy, to growth and job creation."

The Commissioner spoke at a reception hosted by Professor Brian MacCraith, President of Dublin City University, one of the academic institutions involved in the tSli-Ghlas partnership which also includes Ballymun Regeneration, Dublin Airport Authority, Dublin Institute of Technology, Fingal County Council, Dublin City Council and North Dublin Chamber.

The Commissioner continued: "Ireland has the second largest goods trade surplus in the entire EU.  And Irish exports are growing - in the third quarter of this year, overall exports showed an annual rise of around 10 per cent. Irish people are among the most resourceful, dynamic and creative in the world".

"I am confident "the Commissioner continued, "that Ireland will recover its fighting spirit and seek out and capitalise on opportunities to build a new economy. An economy built on innovation."

Tony Boyle, Chairman of the Steering Committee for the An tSlí Ghlas - The Green Way said: "The overall potential of the Green Way, which builds on our existing assets and infrastructure, is that it can assist in the transformation of our economy.  It will, and has already started to, create jobs  in the Cleantech sector, which is the largest job and wealth creation opportunity of the 21st century".

Recruitment is underway for a CEO and Operations Director for An tSli Ghas - The Green Way. Appointments are expected to be made by January 2011.

The Commissioner said, "An tSli Ghlas is an excellent example of the critical role that partnership across academia, industry and regional authorities can play in leading to significant innovation".

Professor Brian MacCraith, President of Dublin City University added, "An tSlí Ghlas - The Green Way has a vision to play a major role in developing Ireland as a global centre and leader in Cleantech. This is the right time for academic institutions, businesses and local authorities to come together to make this vision a reality."

An tSlí Ghlas -The Green Way projects include:

• Designated Wetlab space for Cleantech industries are at advanced planning stage.
• DIT Dublin Energy Lab with Ballymun Regeneration Ltd is providing training and re-skilling of building trade workers for Cleantech jobs.
• DAA are regenerating the airport central area as a hub for Cleantech FDI. The new T2 will  assist in connecting An tSlí Ghlas -The Green Way to emerging Cleantech centres in Europe, China, India and the U.S.
• The Green Start pilot programme have commenced mentoring and training for Cleantech entrepreneurs. 
• Ballymun, which has been acclaimed as Green Community of the Year for 2010, has seen the establishment of the Rediscovery Centre initiative, which encompasses all elements of waste management and currently employs 20 people in sustainable design, research and enterprise development.
• One of the first facilities in DIT's new Grangegorman Campus is the Environmental Health Sciences Institute which involves DCU and DCC. 
• DIT is also working on the establishment of an Energy Product Innovation Centre on behalf of An tSlí Ghlas--The Green Way partners in collaboration with the University of Houston, Texas.

An tSlí Ghlas - The Green Way was conceived in response to the 2009 Report of the Government's High-Level Action Group on Green Enterprise which stated that "Ireland needs to develop one or more green zones in order to create an environment that can support the development of green enterprise and be used to market Ireland overseas".

Cleantech

Cleantech business is defined as one which encompasses knowledge-based products and services which optimise use of natural resources, add economic value compared to traditional alternatives and have global applications across all industry processes through resource efficiency.

Cleantech has enormous multi-decade growth potential and is the largest  job and wealth creation opportunity of the 21st century, with the next Google's, Pfizer's, IBM's and GE's all likely to emerge from the Cleantech sector over the coming decades.

The Cleantech market was conservatively estimated at EUR2.8 billion by Forfás in 2008 with over 6,500 people employed.  The global Cleantech market is projected to reach EUR1 trillion by 2017.