Empey points to cross-border trade potential

The setting up of a new Industrial Development Board office in Dublin is the "logical step" to improve cross-border trade links, Stormont Enterprise Minister Reg Empey said today.

Mr Empey, who was in Dublin to announce the setting of the office in Lower Baggot Street, said that interest in Northern Ireland had increased significantly among Southern companies since devolution.

"Increasingly Irish companies, particularly those in the buoyant information and communications technology sector, are looking to Northern Ireland for graduates and other skilled staff," he said.

The Minister singled out major companies such as Bank of Ireland, First Trust, Golden Vale and Irish Distillers, which has had a substantial presence north of the border for many years.

He added that Northern Ireland’s potential for knowledge-led industries was demonstrated in the Deloitte-Touche Fast Track 50 report, which showed that 20 of the 50 fastest growing hi-tech companies were based in Northern Ireland.

"Other smaller manufacturing companies such as Fabplus from Donegal have set up operations in Northern Ireland as a springboard for easier access to the United Kingdom marketplace as a first step into Europe," said Empey.

Accompanying the Minister was IDB Chairman, Alan Gillespie, who said the office was an integral part of the organisation’s expansion of its marketing strategy.

"The task of the new IDB office in Dublin will be to ensure that ambitious enterprises in the Republic know about Northern Ireland’s exceptional business opportunity and to encourage them to follow the example of other firms by looking to Northern Ireland for the skills and continued growth they require," he added.