Things go better with Coke . . . Or do they? A $185 million (€184 million) investment by the multinational in Mayo's Ballina is behind schedule, and is not expected to be up and running before February of next year.
The Industrial Development Authority (IDA) is not the least bit concerned, however, as the original start-up date of last July may have been a mite ambitious for a project on this scale. Some 150 jobs have been promised in the plant, constructed on a 94-acre site on the Killala Road outside the town.
This was, and still is, regarded as a flagship project for north Mayo - one of the IDA's efforts to make up for the 340 jobs lost in Asahi in Killala. Significantly, many of the posts advertised are highly skilled, in areas like quality assurance and pharmaceuticals.
It has helped to fuel a building boom in the town, where developers are already taking advantage of tax incentives and the ability of young single earners to take out a mortgage, rather than live at home. When Coca-Cola held several open days to give details on recruitment, many of the enquiries came from people already working in Dublin who wanted to return in search of that elusive "quality of life".
The problem is that foreign investors don't list "giving Irish people a better quality of life" as among the main reasons for locating here. The level of grantaid, low corporate tax rates, availability of skilled management/competitive local and "loyal" labour are the priorities identified by most of the case studies published in the Western Development Commission's (WDC) recent report, Blueprint for Investing in the West.
The WDC believes industrial development never reached anything like its full potential in the region, and is critical of past IDA performance. It says that IDA-sponsored job creation spawned a 23 per cent employment growth, compared to 37 per cent for the State as a whole and 55 per cent for Leinster. Galway is the exception, where employment rose by more than 55 per cent between 1993 and 1997. Almost half of all jobs created in the seven western counties in those four years were based in the university city.
The IDA has already shifted gear, and is committed to ensuring that 50 per cent of all new overseas investment is directed towards the Border, Midlands and Western (BMW) region. However, problems of adequate electricity supply and the recent Bord Gais pipeline decision which effectively excludes the north-west from access to natural gas, are identified as setbacks. Galway's over-development, escalating infrastructural problems and high property prices are cited as among the main reasons for investment in towns like Tuam and Ballinasloe. Loughrea and Gort also satisfy some of the criteria identified by the WDC in its foreign direct investment check-list.
While it acknowledges that Galway will still be the most powerful magnet, it believes there is a case for industrial incentives to boost small and medium-sized overseas firm location in smaller towns, while abolishing these incentives where the choice is for a 40,000-plus populated urban area. The raison d'etre for some of these urban centres in the local economy - originally market towns for farming and fish produce - is not regarded as a significant factor in a report which appears to be focused on the merits of the very fickle foreign investor.
However, Mr Liam Scollan, chief executive of the WDC, says there is no question of the commission "placing all our eggs in the FDI [foreign direct investment] basket", and stresses that the focus is on medium-sized industry, rather than large-scale enterprise. "Our analysis shows that the productivity of western industry is very low, and traditional industries are vulnerable. It is important to diversify the economic base at this point in the cycle of the Irish economy, choose companies carefully, and bed them down over the next four or five years so that they can develop sub-suppliers, and can see a long-term future here."
Mr Sean Hannick, businessman and member of both the WDC and Council for the West boards, also defends the approach. "Everyone knows that multinationals get up and go when the cold winds blow," he says. "In fact, Enterprise Ireland's role in encouraging indigenous industry is crucial; and under the new Objective One layout, it will be able to take advantage of special initiatives."
Mr Hannick's own county, Mayo, is way behind the rest of the State in terms of industrial development, though some might say that this stands in its favour when it comes to organic food production, tourism and other environmentally-sensitive economic activities. It accounts for a mere 1.6 per cent of net industrial output, despite taking up some 7.9 per cent of the State's land mass. Wages and salaries are estimated by the WDC at 28 per cent below the national average, and net output per person is 62 per cent of the national average.
The WDC identifies Castlebar/Westport and Ballina as among the key towns satisfying most of its conditions, while Claremorris and other towns in the Knock Airport catchment area, including Ballyhaunis and Charlestown, are also listed. Both Castlebar and Westport are served with national rail routes, and are close to Knock Airport, to third-level education and to a ready supply of labour. Castlebar was runner up in the Information Age Town competition and is establishing itself as an e-commerce centre.
Baxter Ireland, one of the world's top healthcare producers and distributors, is a key employer in Castlebar, with 610 working in the town and 160 in Swinford. It is said to spend some £44 million annually on wages, services and raw materials. Earlier this year, it announced a £24.2 million investment to create another 220 jobs, along with installation of new technology to manufacture dialysis solutions.
Whereas house prices might still be regarded as within reach in Castlebar, Westport is another case entirely. Allergan Pharmaceuticals is the big employer here, along with Trouw Ireland, Gamaster and Carraig Donn knitwear. It is undoubted "quality of life", and the effect of urban renewal tax incentives, that has transformed the town, which has always been a popular tourist destination.
The recent arrival of businesses such as Lionbridge Technologies, Dekko and now Coca-Cola, in the wake of other industries like Hollister and Oasis, has lifted spirits in Ballina. Mr Chris Farrell, president of Ballina Chamber of Commerce, says that the opportunity is now there for local business people, working with developers and state agencies, to reaffirm its position as the premier market town serving a large catchment area stretching from west Sligo to Belmullet and back to east Mayo.
Tuam, Galway's main "county town", has a population of 5,627 and the main employers are Transition Optical, with over 300 employees and Connaught Electronics with a workforce of 200.
"There is a new vibrancy and spirit of optimism here," says Mr Paul O'Grady, auctioneer and president of the chamber of commerce, who lists housing developments, and steady industrial development - including designation of a business park on the old sugar factory/Erin Foods grounds - as among the highlights. It is also within easy access of third-level educational outlets in Galway and Castlebar.
The town's big gripe is the lack of a rail link. The chamber has not been dissuaded by Iarnrod Eireann's recent argument that it would cost £14 million (€17.78 million) to reactivate. "We are coming back at that with a vengeance," Mr O'Grady says. "Our costings put it at £6 to £7 million, and there is a lot of idle equipment that Iarnrod Eireann could be using here. With the traffic to and from Galway getting worse, it makes so much economic sense."
AT Cross, with a workforce of 160, Dubarry Footwear, with 180, and Square D, with 430 are among the main employers in Ballinasloe. Like Tuam, it does not have a third-level educational institution, but it is close enough to both Athlone and Galway for that to make little difference.
With access to road, rail and air networks, "adequate" water and waste treatment, a large land bank and a 40-acre industrial site purchased by the IDA, Ballinasloe meets most of the criteria identified by the WDC for foreign direct investors. Unfortunately, the biggest "infrastructural gap" identified by the local chamber of commerce is - wait for it - "quality of life".
Co Clare has a net output per person equivalent to 64 per cent of the national average, but wages and salaries are 3 per cent above the mean. It accounts for 2.4 per cent of the net industrial output in the State, and, in spite of Shannon Development, it still requires a significant boost, according to the WDC.
The changing fortunes of Shannon Airport have obviously had a major influence. Ennis Chamber of Commerce believes that a light rail link between Shannon, Ennis and Galway could transform infrastructural bottlenecks - the traffic in Ennis can be as bad as anything in a Dublin suburb on a week day afternoon.
As for Ennis, it has made great strides to develop telecommunications and information technology, and was chosen as Ireland's Information Age Town.
Roche Ireland, with a workforce of 250, Kel Electronics and Pacific Scientific are the main employers. In the Shannon industrial zone, De Beers Industrial Diamond Division, GE Capital Aviation Services, and Shannon Aerospace and Aer Rianta International are among the heavy hitters.
The WDC notes that in the 1993-1997 period, when only 3,080 jobs were created in seven western counties, Clare actually lost 19 jobs. A combined population between Ennis and Shannon of 25,665 includes a significant skilled workforce, which is being forced to look to the east - as the brain drain continues apace.
Mr an Hannick says that a new approach to county development plans by local authorities could be instrumental in encouraging growth. He is a member of the WDC's manufacturing advisory council, which has proposed that the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and county development boards apply a tiered grant structure for towns and villages, which should be matched with a county housing policy and plan that encourages building in smaller communities.
It recommends that the IDA set annual county targets; Enterprise Ireland and the county enterprise boards set sub-county targets; there should be input from Udaras na Gaeltachta, Leader groups and other relevant bodies; and the county plan should include advance factory and county workspace programmes. What's more, the IDA and Enterprise Ireland should appoint at least one member of their staff to counties where they don't have an office.
