Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 28 April 2015

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Business of Joint Committee
The Creative Economy: Discussion (Resumed)

1:30 pm

Mr. Patrick Walsh:

One thing we see in Dogpatch, because one has international firms right beside the Irish firms, is this is very synergistic because it serves to produce stronger Irish companies as well. This is because these companies that come over often have more advanced or more sophisticated knowledge of work practices, etc., or whatever it is, relating to their economy. One sees this on the ground all the time, especially as Irish companies seek to go out into these markets, where the Irish start-ups are leaning over to the San Francisco start-ups to ask to whom should they talk and who are some of the customers with which they can put them in touch. There is an interesting interaction between the two on how that foreign direct investment, FDI, piece can serve to produce stronger job creation on the domestic front. It is interesting to see this all the time and it is worth noting that this is a dynamic that can serve to our advantage.