Government policy impeding Cork’s bid to attract industry

CORK is losing out to other European cities on foreign direct investment because Government policy is restricting the areas where international companies can choose to locate.

On Monday, the annual general meeting of the Cork branch of the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) will be told that Cork is facing a number of impediments in its attempts to attract industry and that Government guidelines are among the most disruptive of these.

“Apart from the general worldwide recession and the specific recession in Ireland, other impediments are conspiring to make it more difficult to attract industry into Cork, in particular the Government policy that 50% of all foreign direct investment coming into this country must go to areas outside of Dublin or Cork,” said Joe O’Brien, director of the CIF southern region.

“This is without doubt an inhibiting factor in attracting investment to Cork, and this investment will not necessarily go to other cities such as Galway, Limerick or Waterford, but instead go to comparable cities to Cork in other European countries.”

“The recent report from IDA Ireland in relation to list of investments in 2010 shows that IDA projects are expected to bring in 3,158 jobs to Dublin and only 197 to Cork, as opposed to 490 to Galway, which does not have any artificial restraints placed on it,” he said.

Monday night’s AGM at the Maryborough House Hotel will also be told there were 4,000 direct construction jobs lost in the Cork area in 2010 alone, with direct construction employment at 12,000, down from a peak of 33,500 in 2007.

Nationally, 100,000 people remain employed in the sector, compared to a peak of 282,000 in 2007.

Evidence of the rapid decline in Cork city and county is evidenced by the number of house completions in the region last year.

There were 1,571 private homes finished and 369 local authority dwellings, giving a total of 1,940. That compares to a peak of 9,141 homes completed in the region in 2006.

According to Mr O’Brien, private sector investment for general contracting has virtually dried up and the output for 2011 is expected to be 32% less than that in 2008.

“There are significant projects planned for the city, which, if they proceed, will enhance the cultural, sporting and well-being of the city, and are vital projects for the region if it is to prosper and attract inward investment and maintain employment in the construction industry,” he said.