Irish companies have so far won more than €20 million worth of contracts associated with the 2012 Olympic Games in London and are on track to win a further €730 million.

Speaking yesterday after a conference aimed at encouraging more Irish firms to become involved in the games, Emanuel Carvalho, a London-based representative of Enterprise Ireland, described the 2012 Olympic Games as just the start of the future of the Irish construction industry in the UK.

"The games are a very small part of what it going on there," Mr Carvalho said.

"We believe it is a potential way to start the ball rolling and get Irish companies more involved on an international scale."

Enterprise Ireland has already organised a number of events to introduce Irish companies to potential partners in Britain and hopes that as the amount of construction work available closer to home slows, a desire to maintain the strong growth levels seen over the past decade will encourage many firms to become involved in the preparations for the games.

The State agency declined to name the companies that had already been awarded contracts, but said that in the long run it expects firms to win work in the areas of construction, servicing and regeneration.

Mr Carvalho also said that by preparing to compete for an Olympic contract, Irish companies would be setting themselves up to compete anywhere in the world.

"The games will be a figurehead to drive the stage," he said.