Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2019–2031

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   Enterprise Policy Hierarchy The RSES is extremely important within the Enterprise Policy Context, sitting just below national enterprise policy in the enterprise policy hierarchy and is recognised as a vital delivery mechanism to ensure success in business and deliver sustainable employment. The Government’s National Enterprise policy document ‘Enterprise 2025 - Renewed’ aligns itself at the national level with the National Planning Framework and the National Development Plan 2018-2027 (Project Ireland 2040), whilst the policies of ‘Enterprise 2025- Renewed’ embrace a top down and bottom up approach that ensures realisation of the potential of regions and support enterprises to start and grow. This national enterprise policy outlines the necessity to give effect to Project Ireland 2040 and the RSES through effective governance and coordinated implementation, ensuring prioritisation of investments that deliver impact and value for money, taking account of regional development objectives and realities. All Government departments are to align their capital expenditure over the coming years with the ambition and desired outcomes set out in the National Planning Framework. It is specifically acknowledged as part of national enterprise policy that the RSES will give greater effect to Project Ireland 2040, realising the full potential of our regions through investments in placemaking – developing places that are attractive for business investment and for people to live and work, for instance. Enterprise Agencies The central enterprise policy hierarchy, that includes the RSES, is supported by and informs the work and strategies of the Enterprise Agencies at national level. It further informs and supports a number of national enterprise initiatives including for instance, Future Jobs Ireland, Regional Enterprise Plans (REPs) and funding allocation through funding streams such as the Regional Enterprise Development Fund (REDF) and the funds announced as part of Project Ireland 2040. It is important to highlight the role of the agencies with responsibility for enterprise development who play a key role in the implementation of this strategy. These include IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland that operate under the auspices of the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation (DBEI). In addition the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) operate as the first stop shop for all small enterprises. The LEOs have been integrated into local authorities and Enterprise Ireland continues to provide the overarching strategic policy direction and coordination services. Other bodies and agencies that provide supports include Teagasc, Fáilte Ireland, Bord Bia, the Irish Film Board, Údarás na Gaeltachta, Western Development Commission, and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. Although this is not an exhaustive listing, it serves to highlight the somewhat complex enterprise environment that exists today. Appendix C gives an overview of Enterprise Agencies. 121Economy & Employment

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   6.2 Profile 21 While the greatest concentration of jobs related to ICT, Finance and Science occur in Dublin City with more than 120,000 jobs, in contrast Longford hosts less than 1,000 of this type of jobs. Regional Context: Jobs and Enterprise Base Profile With employment levels nearly back to peak levels before the last economic crisis, the Region’s enterprise base is well diversified with a strong proportion in services. These range from internationally traded financial and global businesses, to retail, locally traded, tourism, and public sector. Although its share in manufacturing is relatively low, it still employs more than 90,000 people. The Region has strong concentrations and/or large employers in Biopharma, ICT, Food and Engineering sectors. There is a cohort of internationally successful Irish owned enterprises involved in engineering, serving a range of markets such as automotive, medical devices, and agri-tech. From records of state enterprise development agencies, a number of sectors displaying high levels of productivity can be identified, such as ICT related (services, facilities and consultancy), Machinery and Equipment, Electrical Equipment and Chemicals. However, overall in the Region, Services are the dominant sector. 21% 21% 21% 21% 20% 54% 54% 54% 54% 55% 20% 19% 19% 19% 19% 6% 6% 6% 6% 6% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 2000 Q1 2004 Q1 2007 Q1 2011 Q1 2017 Q1 Unclassified Public Services Goods Figure 6.1 Eastern & Midland Region Total Employment Source: DBEI The classification of economic activity into goods (manufacturing) and services facilitates provides an insight into the infrastructure requirements of these sectors for the RSES. Manufacturing has specific requirements for transportation infrastructure which is particularly relevant to the movement of physical goods to their markets. In the case of services, it is more about the type of infrastructure that enhances quality of life, and placemaking that attracts and retains the talent needed to operate these services. The following graph demonstrates the economic composition profile for each SPA, local authority and analytical areas21. 122 Regional Spatial & Economic Strategy

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   Strengths and Opportunities22 for the EMR 22 The current REPs and LECPs in the region have enabled coordination of local stakeholders to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to each locality and sub-region. The Dublin Strategic Planning Area (SPA) enjoys features that are very attractive to enterprises to locate and operate, such as its population size, a varied enterprise base, access and connectivity to national and international markets, available skills and talent pool, and sophisticated consumers as a testbed. Nevertheless, Dublin faces capacity constraints that undermine its functionality in areas such as housing and infrastructure. The Dublin-Belfast Economic Corridor - as the largest economic agglomeration on the island of Ireland, with the cities and towns along the Corridor home to a population of around 2 million people - offers an opportunity to develop critical mass and enhance potential. The Eastern SPA is strong in manufacturing, hosting a number of foreign owned investments of significant scale in the Technology and Pharmaceutical sectors. The Midlands SPA has strong concentrations of foreign and Irish owned companies in manufacturing - predominantly in medical devices, pharma/bio, food and engineered products. In general, there is a challenge of satisfying the developmental needs of Dublin so that it can continue to fulfil its role as an international and national driver and economic entity in its own right, while at the same time addressing the economic potential of the rest of areas in the Region. The RSES addresses the challenge in two ways. Firstly, through an orderly growth of the Region, where the growth of Dublin is managed and facilitated, and where Regional Growth Centres increase their critical mass, all supported by an integrated network of settlements. This is addressed with the Growth and Settlement Strategy presented in Chapters 3 Growth Strategy and 4 People and Place. Secondly, the Strategy is about placemaking to facilitate the development of resilience and competitiveness in the Region’s economic base, supported by entrepreneurship, skills and innovation. The Strategy aims to create the ideal conditions for enterprises and people to thrive, to create wealth and to improve quality of life for all. Figure 6.2 Percentage of Local Jobs by Industry 123Economy & Employment

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   6.3 Economic Strategy The vision for the Region is a growth that is sustainable, competitive, inclusive and resilient. This requires the development of a strong economic base that is supported by enterprise, innovation and skills. The aim is for a vibrant and diversified enterprise base with strong and healthy clusters bringing disruptive technology innovations to national and global markets, with a responsive and efficient labour market. 23 Smart Guide to Cluster Policy, Guidebook Series – How to support SME Policy from Structural Funds, European Commission, 2016. Much of the dynamism of clusters derives from ‘economies of scope’ rather than static ‘economies of scale’. With immediate challenges emerging such as global issues and potential vulnerabilities within Ireland’s enterprise base, this RSES adopts a threefold approach: • Firstly, sustaining what we have in the immediate term • Secondly, transforming our enterprise base for longer term resilience, and • Thirdly, building on our strengths to be successful in international trade while managing potential vulnerabilities. The RSES seeks to achieve this vision through the following economic principles; Smart Specialisation: Smart specialisation is part of the EU’s cohesion policy and the Europe 2020 Strategy that focuses on each region’s strengths and the activities that support these strengths. As a place-based approach, it is characterised by the identification of strategic areas for intervention based both on the analysis of the strengths and potential of the economy and on an Entrepreneurial Discovery Process (EDP) with wide stakeholder involvement. IDA, EI, LEOs, SFI and all enterprise agencies as well as Regional Enterprise Plans (REPs) and Local Economic and Community Plans (LECPs), ensure industry, education institutions and communities play a key role in this entrepreneurial discovery process. Smart specialisation focuses on boosting productivity, regaining lost competitiveness, increasing export intensity and diversity of markets, taking measures to improve our attractiveness as a location for investment either national or foreign, and to increase our entrepreneurial activity. Smart specialisation also recognises that supporting strong and dynamic enterprises and investing in Science, Technology and Innovation will accelerate the economic and societal return on investment. Strengthening enterprise engagement with academic research and driving more commercialisation of publicly performed research is an essential component of supporting an innovative and enterprising economy. Clustering: These are initiatives that create, maintain, or upgrade an economic stronghold, by strengthening linkages or facilitating collective action to improve the cluster-specific business environment. Modern cluster policies aim to put in place a favourable business ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship in which new players can emerge and thus support the development of new industrial value chains and emerging industries. Clusters are more a reflection of cross-industry linkages and ‘related diversification’ than of narrow specialisation23. Clusters in the vast majority of cases are not ‘created’, rather they emerge, because different locations provide different types of opportunities for specific companies to invest, succeed and grow. Clusters are the result of a cumulative process, take a long time to develop and are inherently unpredictable. Nevertheless, the State can play a facilitative and supportive role. There is potential to further strengthen collaboration and clustering activities between foreign and Irish owned enterprises, and between enterprises, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), and the research base. Orderly Growth: Though the identification of locations for strategic employment development in line with our Growth and Settlement Strategy, compact growth will be achieved. This involves managing and facilitating the growth of Dublin and to increase the scale of our Regional Growth Centres to be able to provide the range of functions to their hinterlands. This needs to be facilitated by appropriate, effective and sustainable infrastructure development in these centres, and at the same time avoid sprawl. This encompasses connectedness aimed at facilitating a network of skills and talent living in our settlements. It requires a support network of infrastructure - including broadband - in order to make the Region more connected and competitive. This will help to deliver high quality jobs that are well-paid and sustainable. 124 Regional Spatial & Economic Strategy

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   Placemaking: From an enterprise development perspective, investment in the creation of place is key to realising regional potential. Business leaders and entrepreneurs make the decision about where to establish, invest or expand. Internationally, and in Ireland, the trend is increasingly toward urban areas of scale and concentrations of economic activity. The global environment has become increasingly competitive – not only in terms of attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), but also in terms of the challenges facing our Irish owned enterprises as they aim to gain a foot-hold in, or diversify their export markets. Entrepreneurs and Irish owned enterprises are increasingly mobile and they are making location choices in a global context. Indeed, many now face international competition on their doorstep, reinforcing the imperative to innovate and to invest in areas of the business that improve competitiveness. In addition and in line with RSO 2 of Compact Growth and Urban Regeneration, there is a need to reduce consistent poverty rates and deprivation indices in the Region and to avoid depopulation of the smaller towns and rural areas. Similarly, region-wide unemployment blackspots require attention by identifying and addressing their causes. In general, companies are attracted to invest in locations where they can access human capital (skills and talent), higher education institutes and lifelong learning prone environments, where people will want to live and work and where the surrounding infrastructures are supportive of business. It is a combination of factors, such as innovation capacity in the location, continuous flow of infrastructure investments to ensure connectivity, competitive services and amenities, property solutions, housing, quality of life and access to trade and markets, that delivers efficiencies, economies of scale and wider societal benefits. The Smart City concept (see section 6.6) plays to our strengths in ICT and our small international scale, and in this respect constitutes an opportunity to develop a differentiated offering, to attract mobile talent, entrepreneurship, FDI, and to stimulate innovation across all enterprise. Future Proof and Risk Management: With emerging global development and challenges, such as Brexit, tax developments, trade wars, it is important to constantly foresee and horizon scan to identify unforeseen challenges and be ready to act upon them accordingly. See section 6.7. 125Economy & Employment

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   Smart Specialisation Entrepreneurial Discovery Process. for industry, enterprise agencies, HIEs, communities & stakeholders Placemaking Creation of place for Human Capital with Innovation, Infrastructure and access to Trade Clustering Create, maintain or upgrade economic strongholds in a favourable business ecosystem Orderly Growth Strategic employment locations aligned with Growth Strategy Future Proof & Risk Management Economic Opportunity To diversify local and rural economies and create quality jobs, to achieve a sustainable, competitive, inclusive and resilient Region. Figure 6.3. The Economic Strategy 126 Regional Spatial & Economic Strategy

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   Developing a Competitive and Resilient Economic Base Enterprise 2025 sets out a portfolio approach to sectoral development – recognising that sectors contribute in different ways in the economy, delivering value added, export growth and quality of employment throughout Ireland, see Figure 6.4. xisting strengths and seeking out new opportunities ollaboration and connections rtfolio approach to sectoral development – deepening resilience out a portfolio approach to sector development – recognising that sectors nt ways in the economy, delivering value added, export growth and quality out Ireland (Figure iii). Since Enterprise 2025 was published employment has sectors of the economy. cohorts Education Services Healthcare Services Creative industries & Design Green Technologies & Environmental Services Marine and Maritime Professional services Personal services Business services (locally traded) ty nd Building on strengths Realising un-tapped potential Transforming employment intensive sectors Competitive other services and activities al Services d Services al products Figure 6.4: Enterprise 2025 Renewed Sectoral Cohorts (Portfolio approach). Source: DBEI (2018). The RSES will seek to encourage collaboration between industry and local stakeholders to grasp opportunities for enterprise development. The emergence of new opportunities can be facilitated through providing a favourable ecosystem for innovation and enterprise and a framework to stimulate the bottom-up dynamics seen in clusters and cluster initiatives. Spatial Enterprise Strategy Quality of Places: Creating the Right Environment Placemaking represents an opportunity to develop a sustainable competitive advantage for the Region. Creating the right environment for enterprise and employment to thrive can deliver high-quality places, as they become attractive locations to work, live, invest, study and visit. Chapter 9 Quality of Life addresses these issues in more detail. With a focus on business location decisions and enterprise development, the RSES introduces a Health Place Audit (HPA) see Appendix C, it provides a framework to audit the quality of specific places. The HPA is an instrument that enables the assessment of whether or not a specific place has the features that make it attractive for business, and to identify infrastructure gaps that justify and give significance to projects. Enterprise Development and Innovation Assets – Enterprise Supporting Ecosystem Led by DBEI, the enterprise supporting ecosystem comprises business incubation centres, community enterprise centres, accelerator development schemes, local enterprise offices, research and innovation centres with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs), technology gateways, technology centres, research centres, and IDA business and technology parks. This inventory of assets distributed in the Region aims to enable and stimulate collaboration within and across regions, playing a key role in shaping and implementing Technology Innovation Poles. Figures 6.5 and 6.6 map these assets, and Appendix C provides a complete list of these assets. 127Economy & Employment

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   Figure 6.5 EMRA’s Enterprise Development and Innovation Assets Map 128 Regional Spatial & Economic Strategy

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   Figure 6.6 Dublin SPA’s Enterprise Development and Innovation Assets Map 129Economy & Employment

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    GUIDING PRINCIPLES Guiding Principles to Identify Locations for Strategic Employment Development These considerations were used as principles to identify the locations for strategic employment development as set out in Chapter 4 People and Place and Chapter 5 for the MASP. Local authorities in development plans and through LECPs should apply the same principles. Planning to accommodate strategic employment growth at regional, metropolitan and local level should include consideration of: • Location of Technology and Innovation Poles - Institutes of Technology (IoTs) and Universities, as key strategic sites for high-potential growth of economic activity. • Current employment location, density of workers, land-take and resource/infrastructure dependency, including town centres, business parks, industrial estates and significant single enterprises. • Locations for expansion of existing enterprises. • Locations for new enterprises, based on the extent to which they are people intensive (i.e. employees/customers), space extensive (i.e. land), tied to resources, dependent on the availability of different types of infrastructure (e.g. telecoms, power, water, roads, airport, port etc.) or dependent on skills availability. • Locations for potential relocation of enterprises that may be better suited to alternative locations and where such a move, if facilitated, would release urban land for more efficient purposes that would be of benefit to the regeneration and development of the urban area as a whole, particularly in metropolitan areas and large towns. • Within large urban areas where significant job location can be catered for through infrastructure servicing and proximity to public transport corridors. 24 McCoy et al. (2018) The Impact of Broadband and Other Infrastructure on the location of New Business Establishments. Journal of Regional Science. GUIDING PRINCIPLES Guiding Principles for Investment Prioritisation in Placemaking for Enterprise Development • Local authorities, REPs, and LECPs in their preparation of projects to bid for funds, shall give due regard to factors already identified as enablers of enterprise development24, that is availability of human capital, proximity to a third level institution, transport infrastructure; broadband infrastructure; and, a diverse local sectoral mix. • Capacity of places needs to be considered, having regard to implications of commuting on quality of life. • Align to national strategy and approach for data centres – right location for use and energy demand. • There is opportunity for the health / wellbeing sector with new hospitals, for instance St James. • Focus on densification of existing built urban footprint around existing public transport corridors. • Give due regard to enhanced functioning of global services centres, for instance the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) and advanced manufacturing centres. • Identify and prioritise locations considering capacity, analysis of assets, with a vision for the City and the Region. • Facilitate data gathering and cross promotion through local business intelligence units in local authorities. EMRA may facilitate shared evidence base through a regional data system/dashboard. • Explore a ‘second site’ strategy for multinational corporations (MNCs) in outlying locations. • Location specific sectors can be addressed more clearly – energy, marine, greenways, blueways, and peatlands. 130 Regional Spatial & Economic Strategy

Source Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly: Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2019–2031 (June 2019) · Licence the publisher's termsText read from the publisher’s PDF; tables, maps and drawings do not survive as text, and page numbers are the PDF’s (its first page is 1). Check the original before relying on a passage.