ICT Policy in Ireland Dara Boland Enterprise Economy Knowledge Economy Innovation Island Digital Economy Information Society Green Economy “One of the most remarkable transformations of all times” ~Europe s Shining Light, The Economist Networked Economy Low Carbon Economy

Recommended Reading… “Building Ireland’s Smart Economy” A ‘new green deal’ to move us away from fossil fuel-based energy Develop first-class infrastructure R&D focus “Innovation Ireland” Establish Ireland as “Global Innovation Hub” Opposite of Innovation is Stagnation Save money yes, but spend to stimulate Product of Innovation Task Force “Technology Actions to Support the Smart Economy” Brings components of the “digital economy” together - infrastructure, innovation and green technology - into one programme. The creation of an Exemplar fibre network and an International Content Services Centre (equivalent of IFSC)

Recommended Reading… “Trading and Investing in a Smart Economy: A Strategy and Action Plan for Irish Trade, Tourism and Investment to 2015” Similar to the Forfas report: “Making it Happen, Enterprise Growth in Ireland Create over 150,000 direct new jobs in manufacturing, tourism and internationally trading services Is Tourism really a “Smart” Industry? “Government Action Plan on the Information Society” January 1999 (Focuses on developing infrastructures to advance ICT Telecommunications infrastructure, Legal and regulatory environment, eGovernment “New Connections – A Strategy to Realise the Potential of the Information Society” Focus on RDTI Worked alongside National Development Plan

Enterprise Economy Knowledge Economy Innovation Island Digital Economy Information Society Green Economy Networked Economy Low Carbon Economy What's the buzz?

The Smart Economy

Ireland Inc. - Rebranding “If We Have Designed Ourselves Into Difficulty Then We Can Design Our Ways Out Of Difficulty” ~J Thackara

Introducing First…The ICT Sector! Why Ireland? Skilled Workforce 12.5% - The Magic Number High Productivity (see graph) Pro Business Environment Supportive Agencies Low Regulatory Burden Open Economy Access to Europe Source: Ark, B. van, J. Melka, N. Mulder, M.P. Timmer and G. Ypma (2002), “ICT Investments and Growth Accounts for the European Union ” Source: Ark, B. van, J. Melka, N. Mulder, M.P. Timmer and G. Ypma (2002), “ICT Investments and Growth Accounts for the European Union ”

ICT SECTOR CATEGORIES 1.)Application software 2.)Hardware & systems 3.)Telecommunications Support services 4.)Digital content 5.)e-business 6.)Microelectronics design 7.)Enterprise application 8.)integration software 9.)IT services Source: Ark, B. van, J. Melka, N. Mulder, M.P. Timmer and G. Ypma (2002), “ICT Investments and Growth Accounts for the European Union ” Source: Ark, B. van, J. Melka, N. Mulder, M.P. Timmer and G. Ypma (2002), “ICT Investments and Growth Accounts for the European Union ”

Industry Stats Exports€50 billion Corporate Tax€500 million R&D Spent€991 million Employs90,000 No. Companies1,000 Global ICT Companies8 out of top Figures Employment Intel5,200 Dell4,300 - ? IBM3,300 HP2,300 Xerox1,600 Ericsson1,400 Analog Devices1,200 Microsoft1,100 EMC1,100 Apple1,000 Google- ICT, what's the big Deal?

The facts of the matter are…. Why is it important? Employs 90,700, in over 1,300 companies (up from 19,000 in 1990) (Forfás/CSO2003) Over 300 foreign companies in Ireland, employing 61,000 (Goodbody Stockbrokers) Ireland is the largest exporter of software in the world (IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2003) 8 of the worlds top 10 ICT companies have a base here(IDA Ireland) One third of all PC s sold in Europe are manufactured in Ireland (Eurostat) ICT sector sales = €52 billion (2003)with three of Ireland’s top exporters (Dell, Microsoft and Intel) accounting for 18% of total exports (Forfás) Ireland has a higher proportion of science graduates than any other EU member state (Eurostat) Value added in the ICT sector accounted for 11.6% of GDP in 2000, compared with an EU average of 5.1% (Economic Intelligence Unit Business Environment Rankings)

Innovation Task Force attempt at contextualizing Policy. The role policy plays in “Innovation”

IRELAND’S EMERGENCE FROM THE 20TH CENTURY AS A COUNTRY WITH ONE OF THE STRONGEST ECONOMIC GROWTH RATES IN THE WORLD HAS PROPELLED IT TO THE TOP OF MANY GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS TABLES. THE COUNTRY’S SUCCESS AT GROWING A KNOWLEDGE- AND SKILLS-BASED ECONOMY LED THE ECONOMIST TO DESCRIBE IT AS: ‘IRELAND’S ECONOMIC MIRACLE… ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE TRANSFORMATIONS OF RECENT TIMES.’ ‘Europe’s Shining Light’, The Economist

CategoryWeight Connectivity and technology infrastructure20% Business environment15% Social and cultural environment15% Legal environment`10% Government policy and vision15% Consumer + business adoption25% Source: Economist Intelligence Unit, 2010 How do we stack up Internationally?

17 th Place

How We Stack up Internationally Ireland is an “Innovation Follower,” with innovation performance below those of the innovation leaders but close to or above that of the EU27. Denmark, Finland, Germany, Sweden,Switzerland and the UK are the Innovation leaders

Policy V’s Strategy

Irish Education System Importance of Corporate Tax Rate The Future for ICT in Ireland Conclusion Critical Analysis

2006 survey ranks Ireland at 19/25 European Countries for use of technology in classrooms 1 in 3 Irish 15 year olds has not used a computer in school The delay in the rollout of the €252 million NDP is causing Irish pupils to be left behind Demand for ICT graduates is increasing/Supply is decreasing (56% drop in ICT courses in last 7 years down to 1800) Irish Education System

Co. Monaghan software development firm Created 50 new jobs Received a poor response to these positions Managing Director will have to outsource these jobs because lack of skill in Irish workforce

Corporate Tax Rate 12.5% in Ireland & unchanged in Budget 2010

The Future of ICT in Ireland Dermot O’ Connell, general manager, Dell Ireland Need to improve ICT infrastructure in rural areas Need for a National Development Plan which is costed and has very specific targets

Conclusion The ICT Sector is paramount to Irish Economic Recovery (Opposite of Innovation is Stagnation) Ireland’s Digital Infrastructure is still comparatively poor Corporate Tax Rate is still the key Government needs to focus its ICT investment on infrastructure in underdeveloped rural areas

Thanks and we welcome any questions Dara Boland