Fighting for every firm’s survival

Heading up Enterprise Ireland in the midst of an economic crisis is no easy task but there has been some good news for Frank Ryan lately, with multinationals hiring again and the export sector packing a powerful punch, says Kyran Fitzgerald

FRANK RYAN has been steering the ship, Enterprise Ireland, through choppy waters in recent years. Through this difficult period, he has sought to project a sense of determined optimism but, at times, the struggle must surely have been an uphill one.

In recent weeks, amid the gloom, there have been some glimmers of hope: Important investment announcements from major multinationals such as Intel, Danone, Google, and just this week, Dell — promising 150 jobs in cloud computing. On the home front, SouthWestern plans to create 150 jobs in Clonakilty.