Investing in IT will aid Irish recovery, says UPC chief

UPC, the European division of Liberty Global, an international cable operator, is confident of Ireland’s economic future, a gathering of business leaders heard in Brussels yesterday.

A combination of past investment in education and future investment in communications technology will aid a return to prosperity in Ireland, more than 100 senior telecommunications industry delegates were told.

“Digital technologies have the potential to drive economic recovery not just in Ireland but elsewhere in europe,” UPC Ireland chief executive Dana Strong said in her address to delegates at a conference on the digital economy.

“We are confident of seeing this impact in Ireland where the Government and the industry are making significant strides towards the achievement of the EU’s Digital Agenda 2020 targets. The Irish targets exceed EU requirements.”

In a further vote of confidence in the country, she said that Ireland was stronger today because of decades of sustained educational, infrastructural, and economic investments.

“The challenge in Ireland and across Europe is to convert investments made to date into an instrument of recovery for the future,” she told the gathering of EU policymakers and industrialists.

The conference, entitled Unlocking the Potential of the Digital Economy, was organised by Liberty Global to mark Ireland’s presidency of the European Union.

The event was chaired by former president of the European Parliament Pat Cox.

It was also addressed by deputy Irish ambassador to the EU Tom Hanney; Anthony Whelan, head of cabinet for the vice-president of the European Commission Neelie Kroes; and Gerard O’Neill, chairman of Amárach Research.

The event also marked UPC Ireland’s provision of superfast broadband to the Irish presidency of the EU, where it has sponsored a 200Mbps fibre-powered broadband connection to Dublin Castle.

In her address, Ms Strong said that telecommunications investments in Ireland over the past decade also provide a solid foundation for economic recovery.

“The industry in Ireland has invested €2.5bn over the last five years into Ireland’s telecommunications infrastructure. This has facilitated some €54bn of foreign direct investment projects as well as expansion projects for indigenous Irish firms.”

Citing EU Commission figures, Ms Strong said European small and medium enterprises account for about 67% of total employment and 58% of goods and services produced. With more than 87m people employed, SMEs continue to be the backbone of the EU economy.

“Over 90% of all bus-inesses in Ireland are SMEs. Faster adoption of digital technologies needs to be promoted among these businesses to ensure they can maximise the benefits of digital competitiveness.

“Throughout the downturn in Europe, SMEs have retained their position as the backbone of the European economy, with some 20.7m firms accounting for more than 98% all businesses.”