Sir, - Many people would disagree with Mr Fergus O Raghalligh's statement in his letter of January 12th, that "the history of State involvement in the promotion of design is not a happy one." The fact that the retailing activities of Kilkenny Design Workshops ended in a loss to the State. This was unfortunate in that much of the excellent work already done in the design field was tarred in the official mind by the failure of the retail activities. However, that is well in the distant past. We still face the problems of developing marketable products for export markets.
There is, as Mr O Raghallaigh states, a small creative design community in Ireland, but many of our design graduates have to go abroad to make a living, and their talents are applied to the benefit of manufacturers in those countries.
What we could do now is firstly, to recognise the importance of industrial design in manufacturing and exporting. Poorly designed products either will not sell or will sell at a reduced price. Furthermore, as world competition relentlessly drives down the manufacturing element of products, the design element becomes more expensive - intellectual property is becoming more valuable. Secondly, there is an unanswerable case for establishing a tripartite Council of Industrial Design to ensure that the focus is firmly kept on the end product, and to make sure that the State spend is properly directed. Government, business and the design profession would compromise the three parties. The cost would be minimal - a small secretariat, a meeting room and a small council. Our researches indicate that we are the only country in Europe without such a council. - Yours, etc.,
Chief Executive,
Irish Exporters Association,
Holles Street, Dublin 2.