Midland towns told to work together

If towns in the midlands want to compete with emerging markets in Eastern Europe and Asia for foreign investment, they must stop acting alone and work as a region, according to the chief executive of the IDA, Mr Seán Dorgan.

Mr Dorgan will deliver a keynote address on attracting foreign investment to the midlands, in Athlone this morning. In the wake of the IDA's e-Bay project which opted to locate in Dublin despite being offered greater grants to go to Athlone, Mr Dorgan will argue that as no town in the midlands has a population of more than 20,000, they must group together to develop critical levels of infrastructure and investment.

Mr Dorgan will say that Athlone, Mullingar and Tullamore are examples, identified by the National Spatial Strategy, of how the region can attract investment.

The IDA sees the three towns as part of a "polycentric city" attracting "life science" industries including biopharma/pharmaceutical enterprises and medical technologies to a new core manufacturing area.

Old style low-technology manufacturing enterprises have already moved on to low-wage economies where the Republic cannot compete on our current cost base, according to the IDA.

Mr Dorgan will tell the Midlands Regional Authority that the Republic competes very successfully across Europe, with 9 per cent of all foreign direct investment into the EU coming here. But for the regions to compete with other areas of the Republic as well as Eastern Europe, Singapore, India and parts of the US, they will have to provide businesses with first-class transport connections, services and quality of life.

To achieve this Tullamore can no longer compete with Athlone or Mullingar but the three centres should act in tandem to attract investment.

The Athlone Institute of Technology has the responsibility of providing high-level graduates and also attracting the best graduates from second-level schools in the area.

On the challenge of emerging markets, Mr Dorgan remains convinced that Ireland will continue to succeed and to be a major location for inward investment in Europe.

He will outline to the seminar the need for the midlands to respond with innovation to ensure its share of foreign direct investment in the future. The seminar to be held in the Athlone Institute of Technology will also be addressed by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, Prof Ciarán Ó Catháin, director of the Athlone Institute of Technology, and representatives from foreign companies already investing in the region.

The seminar will also be addressed by members of the regional authority who will outline its approach to regional planning guidelines due to be published in the near future.