Mr. Joe Crockett:

The three issues are the top three bullet points set out in the presentation, namely, policy and economic development, the importance of third level education and research, and farming and agribusiness. If members have questions about the rest of the presentation, I can address them.

On how the region should perform, in 2010 Kilkenny County Council started to examine how we might develop an economic model for ourselves. In examining the issue of economic development the key elements to be considered are what the State is trying to do, what its main economic policies are and where the competitive advantages it sees for itself lie at national level. One then works down through regional economic policy, as identified by Forfás which has been the most active agency in dealing with this issue. It has produced the regional competitiveness agendas, while the council has produced its own economic development strategy which focuses on the issues I mentioned, namely, third level education and research, tourism, agribusiness and so on.

A new regional economic model is being prepared by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. We do not know what its shape will be, but there is a need for an alignment between the three levels, namely, national, regional and local. If there was policy and objectives harmonisation between all of the enterprise agencies involved, there would be a greater focus and better spend by everybody. That would be very helpful, not only to the south-east region but to all regions.

With regard to any policy document we might have, rather than being about policy it is more important that it be about strategy, and real strategy at that. Instead of being a wish list for everybody in the audience, it would be far more effective if it were limited to high-level strategic objectives that would lead to real change on a multi-annual basis. For example, in the south east we could focus on key infrastructure that is required and the key sectors for development. I suggest that a new model for economic development should be aligned and should comprise a unified set of national, regional and local objectives. It should be strategic and multi-annual, and focus on a relatively small number of key infrastructures and policies that would have an impact over a five or six-year period.

The key requirement for the south east is a new type of third level education and research that is based on an applied education model and that focuses on the sectors identified for growth. Rather than a traditional university, which is focused on academic research and so on, we need an applied university that is closely aligned with cutting-edge objectives of key sectors in the region that are capable of export or indigenous growth. That is the single most important measure that the Government could implement to help the region. We need a technological university in the south east that focuses on applied education, particularly research, and that must be aligned with what the growth sectors in that region which could deliver on a national and international basis. The key research arm of Waterford Institute of Technology is the Telecommunications Software and Systems Group, TSSG. The group has been very successful and I want to express my full support for what it does. An expansion would be beneficial, working with Institute of Technology, Carlow.

With regard to the potential for a sectoral approach, obviously farming or agri-business is the single most important growth sector not just in the south east but across many other regions. One of the things we did that was useful - I would suggest this as a case study of how to find new ways to develop - was that, rather than relying on the State agencies to provide the best thinking on growth, we decided it would be better to bring in the chief executives of key companies in the sector one wants to expand. That is what Kilkenny County Council did. We asked the chief executives of Glanbia, Dawn Meats, Brett Brothers, Connolly's Red Mills and Oldtown Bakeries, as well as Leader representatives and ourselves at the county council, to set out the high-level objectives that agri-business could deliver, not just for Kilkenny but for the whole region. The chief executives outlined for us their thoughts and those of their companies when it came to growth. With that information we could work upwards by talking to others - county councils, farmers, the IFA, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland or whoever - about how we can grow and about the key objectives and strategies. The high-level group identified two strands of growth, one of which was expansion of the milk industry. As the committee will be aware, the milk quota will be lifted in 2015. That means there should be growth of between 40% and 60% in milk supply across Ireland, of which most will be in the south-east region, which is at the centre, as it comprises the bulk of the milk field. We are looking at growth of about 30% in cow numbers, and the rest will be achieved through productivity and other measures.

This is a significant opportunity for the country because all of this development is for export growth. If, as a country, we decide to be the world leader in everything related to agri-business, whether we are talking about milk or beef, and to drive the sector as far up the value chain as possible for exports, that is the way to go. We should back this up with research and development at the new applied university and become the best at everything to do with farming, particularly engineering, technology and industry. That is my suggested model for growth in this sector, but also in other sectors. For too long we have relied heavily on IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, good as they are. Although they are good at what they do, we need to find new models of partnership comprising top-level chief executives in the sectors that we want to expand.

I have other models for regional tourism and services. The county council has bought the Smithwicks site in Kilkenny, which offers great potential for growth. Life sciences are important, and we work with our colleagues in Waterford on strategic water and wastewater facilities. We need strategic infrastructure such as Waterford port, Waterford airport and a linked hub consisting of Waterford city, Kilkenny city and Wexford.

Local authorities can establish links with the markets in which we want these sectors to grow. Kilkenny County Council has been twinned with Suzhou in China, where Glanbia has its overseas operation. The county council is working on that relationship, and that is a model on which other authorities should focus. Twinning should be used as means to foster and provide a foundation for export-led growth, however limited.