Launch of the Report of the High Level Action Group on Green Enterprise
The Taoiseach, Mr. Brian Cowen, T.D., the Tánaiste and Minister for
Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms. Mary Coughlan, T.D., and the Minister
for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Mr. Eamon Ryan, T.D.,
today (Wednesday, 2 December 2009), together with Mr. Joe Harford,
Chairperson, launched the Report of the High Level Action Group on Green
Enterprise.
The Group, which was established in May in line with a commitment in the
Framework for Economic Renewal, Building Ireland's Smart Economy, was
tasked with identifying the series of actions required to enable Ireland
realise the potential of developing an innovation-based green enterprise
sector as part of its enterprise portfolio. The Group's membership
comprised people from the private sector and key senior officials from the
relevant Government departments and agencies.
Launching the Group's report, the Taoiseach said: "We are committed to the
development of a vibrant green enterprise sector, which has the potential
to create 80,000 jobs as part of our strategy for Ireland's economic
renewal. This Report sets out a blue print for the Government to follow in
achieving that aim and I want to thank Joe Harford and the members of the
Group for their time and significant work. Supporting the growth of the
green enterprise sector will bring new opportunities for Irish business,
create jobs and attract investment to our economy, ultimately contributing
to economic recovery and growth".
The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment said, "
Maximising the potential for Irish business and for job creation of the
growing worldwide interest in 'green' solutions to today's problems and
challenges, is our key focus in adding this sector to our enterprise
portfolio. Ireland has a track record of building on our skills and talent
to focus on key sectors. We have had significant success in sectors such
as food, ICT, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology to date. The adoption and
targeting of the environmental goods and services sector now allows us to
capitalise and build on our existing skills base to capture for Ireland
part of the global growth in this sector".
The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources said. "The
green economy represents the single best bet for Ireland to lift itself out
of recession. We have the resources, the political will and the plan. We
are already implementing; with over €30 billion in investments from our
semi-state sector, with private industry on board and with thousands of
jobs already created. The 80,000 jobs this report identifies, the
investment and the new economics will be implemented".
The Report identifies potential to create up to 80,000 jobs in future
years. It contains many practical proposals and the Government have agreed
to oversee priority implementation of those recommendations that can
deliver jobs and investment opportunities.
The latest estimates put the size of the global environmental goods and
services market as exceeding 700 billion dollars by 2010. The value of
this sector for Ireland is growing and estimated to be more than 2.8
billion euro in 2008.
Chairperson of the Group, Mr. Joe Harford, believes there are significant
opportunities for Ireland if it acts quickly. He said, "I see a need for
Ireland to be able to respond quickly and flexibly to capture new
opportunities. Implementation of this Report is essential in order to
maximise the potential for Ireland in the green enterprise sector. We need
to gain a significant foothold and a competitive advantage in the short
term as competition for investment and ideas in this sector is growing
across the globe".
There are a number of clear areas of action and opportunity identified in
the Report, including:
- Green procurement;
- Renewable energy and providing energy efficiency;
- Green enterprise zones;
- World Class green R&D;
- Waste management; and
- Water and waste water treatment.
The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment thanked Joe
Harford and the members of the High Level Action Group for their work in
producing the Report.
Concluding, she said, "We must take a whole of Government approach to
ensure we embrace this growth area and deliver on its potential. I will be
leading on the implementation of the recommendations in the Report,
ensuring that there is the necessary delivery across the whole of
Government, including all relevant State Agencies. Work on an
implementation plan is already underway and on-going progress will be
reported to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Renewal, which is chaired by
the Taoiseach".
(This press release is also available on the Departments website at
www.entemp.ie)
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Note for editors:
At the request of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment,
Forfás, in conjunction with Intertrade Ireland, commissioned a study to
undertake a study to identify potential enterprise opportunities in the
global Environmental Goods and Services (EGS) sector. The Report of that
study which was published in October 2008, found that the value of the
sector is estimated at €3.6 billion euro to the whole island of Ireland in
2008. At world level, the value is likely to exceed $700 billion by 2010.
The Forfás study identified the main sub-sectors with potential
environmental goods and services opportunities as: Renewable energies,
Efficient energy use and management (including eco-construction), Waste
management, recovery and recycling, Water and wastewater treatment, and
Environmental consultancy and services.
In view of the huge potential for the green economy to help Ireland to meet
its economic and environmental challenges, the Government made a commitment
in its framework strategy, Building Ireland's Smart Economy, to establish a
High Level Group on Green Enterprise. The High Level Group, established in
May 2009, built on the work already undertaken by Forfás/ Intertrade
Ireland on the Environmental Goods and Services Sector on the Island of
Ireland. The Group was asked to produce a list of tangible action points by
October 2009 to enable Ireland to realise the vision that we have of an
innovative Green Enterprise economy. The Group was enterprise driven and
had a strong enterprise focus, exploiting new opportunities for indigenous
companies and attracting increased FDI. The Group's membership comprised
people from the private sector and key senior officials from the relevant
Government Departments and Agencies.
Group membership:
Joe Harford, Chair
Martin Eves
Richard Kennedy
Dr Rosheen McGuckian
Eddie O'Connor
Declan Murphy
Clare O'Grady-Walsh
Colin Gordon
Brendan Tuohy
John Fitzgerald
Enterprise Ireland - Mike Feeney
Forfás - Declan Hughes
IDA Ireland - Denis Molumby
Sustainable Energy Ireland - Owen Lewis
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment - Clare Dunne
Department of Finance - David Moloney
Department of the Taoiseach - Mary Doyle
Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources - Sara White
Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government - Colm Lavery
ENDS//