Frequently Asked Questions
Some of the questions most frequently asked about the Smart Economy are:
What are the elements of the Smart Economy strategy?
The Smart Economy Framework has five key areas for action:
- securing the enterprise economy and promoting competitiveness, including restoring fiscal stability;
- building the ideas economy by establishing Ireland as an innovation hub;
- enhancing the environment, securing energy supplies and building the GreenTech sector;
- investing in critical public infrastructure;
- ensuring more efficient and effective public services and smarter regulation.
What is different about the Smart Economy approach?
A key feature of the Smart Economy is the innovation or ‘ideas’ component of the economy which utilises the knowledge, skills and creativity of people, and effectively translates ideas into valuable processes, products and services.
Ireland’s specific objectives include:
- attracting a greater proportion of high-value, R&D-intensive, Foreign Direct Investment to Ireland;
- developing a critical mass of companies – both Irish and international – at the forefront of innovation, creating the products and services of tomorrow;
- creating the conditions where entrepreneurs will want to come to Ireland because it provides one of the best environments for turning ideas into products and services for sale.
What unique advantages has Ireland in developing a Smart Economy?
Ireland has:
- a critical mass of high tech multinationals; as well as being the European hub for major ICT firms such as Microsoft, Google and Intel, nine of the top ten global pharmaceutical firms have a major regional presence in Ireland
- a young, educated and English-speaking population; over 40% of those aged 25-34 have a third-level qualification
- growing R&D investment, where economy-wide spend has trebled in the last decade driven by an exceptional level of collaboration between industry, academia and Government
- an economy highly open to trade and investment, which the World Bank has rated the 7th easiest country in the world in which to do business
Is the ‘Smart Economy’ different from the ‘Green Economy’?
Opportunities from development of the Green Economy are central to Ireland’s vision for a Smart Economy which recognises the need to move to a low-carbon economy, drawing on Ireland’s natural resources to tackle the inter-related challenges of climate change and energy security.
Practical initiatives to position Ireland for opportunities in Green Enterprise as part of the Smart Economy Framework include:
- recent announcement by Ireland’s largest power generation company, the ESB, of 3,700 new jobs in the areas of smart meters, smart networks, electric vehicles, wind energy, home insulation and green technology
- a High Level Group on Green Enterprise will report to Government in early October 2009 with an implementation plan for realising the potential enterprise and employment opportunities in this are