Ireland and Wales - the perfect match

While Welsh rugby fans flock to Dublin this week in search of a vital Six Nations win, Irish investors in increasing numbers are visiting Wales to seek out business success.

Over the years, Irish enterprises have invested heavily in new or expanded operations in Wales. Those investments have created and safeguarded the more than 2,700 jobs provided by Irish companies in Wales today.

This weekend the Deputy First Minister, Ieuan Wyn Jones, alongside the British Ambassador, will be hosting a reception in Dublin on Friday night (12 March) to promote trade and inward investment opportunities. They will be joined by a group of 10 Welsh exporters in Ireland with a Welsh Assembly Government trade mission.

Whatever the tensions of the pitch this Saturday, Welsh-Irish business links are being further strengthened by the EU’s  £63m Ireland/Wales programme 2007-2013  which is investing some £47 million from the European Regional Development Fund in joint projects to increase economic links on both sides of the Irish Sea.

So far 17 initiatives are underway, including the £1m Vision project – a partnership between Coleg Menai and the Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT) in Dublin helping businesses and entrepreneurs to develop new products and bring them to market.

Trade between Wales and Ireland continues to grow with two export support services now available to Welsh companies looking to expand their business activity in Ireland.  These are the International Trade Opportunities (ITO) programme and the International Events programme.

The ITO programme provides tailor-made business assistance to Welsh exporters and those with proven export capability.  Over the past five years, the programme has assisted over 380 Wales-based companies to explore and locate business partners in the Irish market.  This has helped to secure over £29 million worth of business for Welsh SMEs from trade with Ireland. 

Under the International Events programme, the Welsh Assembly Government has visited Ireland regularly since 2001 and introduced over 160 Welsh companies to the Irish market.  The last trade mission took place in November 2009, during which the business delegation attended the Cork Meet 2009 event. 

Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones said that Wales stands to benefit from a continued and growing flow of investment from Ireland.

"Wales is ideally placed to provide the skills and locations that growth-minded Irish companies are seeking on this side of the Irish Sea. I am committed to ensuring that every successful and dynamic Irish business is well aware of the many advantages that Wales can offer them as a place to do business - and of the warm welcome - whatever the outcome on Saturday at Croke Park."

Ends

12 March, 2010

Notes to Editors

The Ireland Wales programme is managed by the Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly (SERA) based in Waterford, Ireland;

The aim of the programme is to drive forward knowledge, innovation and sustainable development through collaborative initiatives with Irish and Welsh partners;

The regions benefiting from the programme include Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire and South West Wales with the regions of Dublin, Mid East and South East in Ireland and the adjacent areas of Swansea and Flintshire and Wrexham in Wales and the South West Regional Authority in Ireland.

There are a total of 55 companies with Irish parentage in Wales employing just over 2,700 people.

Some of the more successful Irish companies investing in Wales are the Dawn Group employing 600 employees, Kingspan who employ 400 staff, DCC Group – Days Healthcare and Eurocaps employing 200, and Glanbia who employ 170 staff.

The most recent of these types of investments being IdentiGEN Ltd, with are forecasted to create 15 jobs in Newport.