Significantly bolstering animation production in Ireland, Mercury Filmworks, one of Canada’s most prolific independent animation studios, has joined forces with acclaimed Kilkenny-based animation studio Cartoon Saloon to create an all-new 2D-focused animation studio in Ireland, Lighthouse Studios. The joint venture, supported by Ireland’s Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through IDA Ireland will create over 140 jobs in the next three years.  In the coming weeks, Lighthouse Studios plans to announce development and production projects, as well as a hiring initiative encompassing production management, designers, animators, effects artists, compositors, technical directors, 3D modelers, riggers, lighting and texture artists and IT administrators.

Gathering in Kilkenny to make today’s joint announcement were Minister for Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation Mary Mitchell O’Connor; Mercury Filmworks CEO Clint Eland; Cartoon Saloon’s CEO Paul Young and senior IDA Ireland executives. They were joined by a number of local dignitaries and executives and artists from both companies.

Making the announcement in Kilkenny today, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD said “This is terrific news and I warmly welcome the additional 140 jobs which will be created in Kilkenny. I am always keen to pursue as wide a range of Foreign Investment projects as possible and this launch today shows that we have the creative talent to attract companies like Mercury Filmworks to Ireland. Ireland has a strong record in film making, including animation, and I have no doubt that this partnership between Mercury Filmworks and Cartoon Saloon will go from strength to strength”. Lighthouse Studios will provide high quality children’s and family animated content development and end-to-end production services–from script writing, design, storyboard, animation and compositing to post production services–to a global client base. Specializing in 2D animation with some CGI integration and utlizing the latest technologies, the studio’s production pipeline will mirror Mercury Filmworks’ Canadian operation. However, Lighthouse Studios will operate autonomously with its own management team, reporting to a Board of Directors comprised of executives from both Mercury Filmworks and Cartoon Saloon.

In making the announcement, Mercury Filmworks CEO Clint Eland, explained, “We have enormous respect for Cartoon Saloon and could not be happier to announce this collaboration. They are one of today’s most creative and well respected animation companies with goals, perspectives, and philosophies that complement our own.”

“Conceived as a studio with its own unique identity,” he continued, “Lighthouse Studios is neither wholly Mercury Filmworks nor Cartoon Saloon, but rather the best parts of each, transplanted in the rich Irish soil and nurtured by its own talented team of artists into a studio with its own unique and distinct creative perspective.”

Added Cartoon Saloon’s CEO Paul Young: “All of us at Cartoon Saloon are delighted to be in partnership with Mercury, as we have long admired their work. And now, together, we plan to make Lighthouse Studios and Kilkenny a center of excellence for animation. ”

Young continued, “Ireland enjoys a number of advantages when it comes to animation. The industry is supported by a growing number of educational programs and draws talent from all over Europe due to the quality of projects being produced here. The Irish talent pool has been spilling over into other parts of Europe and North America for years and we look forward to welcoming a lot of that talent home.”

The Minister of State for Training, Skills and Innovation, John Halligan TD said “This is a really positive development for the South East region. The Government through the Action Plan for Jobs is very focussed on ensuring all of Ireland benefit from job creation. This project today shows that we have the capability to attract big international projects, requiring a diverse range of talents, which bring well paid jobs to this region. I know Kilkenny will be a great home for the new venture”.

“The impact of Mercury Filmworks creating this greenfield investment with Cartoon Saloon, one of Ireland’s most respected animation studios, is a game changer for the industry,” concluded IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan. “It will greatly enhance the animation cluster in Ireland, broaden the animation skills base here and clearly positions Ireland as a compelling location for world-class content creators.”

Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland added: “Cartoon Saloon is recognised globally as a leading creative animation company. They are excellent role models of Irish innovation success, in a strong and growing cohort of innovative animation companies in Ireland. Enterprise Ireland has worked closely with Cartoon Saloon since 2004 and we are delighted to congratulate the team on this new venture, and wish them continued success for the future.”

About Mercury Filmworks

Mercury Filmworks® is one of Canada’s most prolific independent studios and internationally recognized as a leader in the animation industry for its benchmarks in quality, reliability, and innovation. Over its 19-year history Mercury has helped bring to life many of the most memorable modern animated television and film properties including Disney’s Tangled animated series and multi-award winning series Mickey Mouse Shorts, Lion Guard, Wander Over Yonder, Star and the Forces of Evil, Jake & the Never Land Pirates, Fish Hooks, Toot & Puddle, Gerald McBoing Boing, Atomic Puppet and the upcoming NETFLIX original series HILDA, based on the Eisner-Award nominated graphic novels by Luke Pearson.  Mercury is proud to be associated with partners such as Disney, Amazon, NETFLIX, Warner Bros., Universal, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and its home networks, Silvergate, CBC, SRC, TVO, Knowledge Network, DHX’s Family Channel and Family CHRGD and the Corus Entertainment family of networks, Teletoon, YTV, and Treehouse.

 About Cartoon Saloon

Kilkenny-based Cartoon Saloon is a twice Academy Award^® and BAFTA nominated animation studio formed by Paul Young, Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey in 1999. In 2010 the studio’s first feature film, The Secret of Kells, was nominated for an Academy Award® and in 2015 their follow up feature, Song of the Sea, garnered a second Oscar® Nomination. Building on a platform of award-winning shorts, feature films and TV series, Cartoon Saloon has carved a special place in the international animation industry with projects such as the award-winning tv series Skunk Fu and Puffin Rock and those currently in development including Wolf Walkers, Dorg Van Dango and Viking Skool. Cartoon Saloon’s next feature film “The Breadwinner”, co-produced with Canada’s Aircraft Pictures, Luxembourg’s Melusine Productions and in association with Angelina Jolie’s Jolie Pas Productions will have it’s worldwide premiere in Autumn of 2017. It is based on the internationally acclaimed young adult novel of the same name by Canadian author Deborah Ellis

Photo credit:@yifm

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD, announced today that she is to establish a National Design Forum which will drive Ireland’s capability and reputation as a source of design innovation.

“Innovation gives companies and products their competitive edge and design is the piece that makes products distinctive, valuable and desirable,” said Minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor.

“We have a well-deserved reputation for international quality science, research and product development. We need to enhance the value of products and services to the customer by adding in the highest design values, improving functionality and user experience,” continued the Minister.

The Design Forum will focus on an agenda that will deliver on that objective and make recommendations to Government, to Departments and to Agencies.

The Forum will comprise businesses, Government agencies, third level colleges, design practitioners and design organisations.

The Forum will be chaired by Minister Mitchell O’Connor.

“I want this Forum to make a concerted effort to develop design capability in Ireland and to drive greater design-based innovation in the business sector, thereby supporting job creation and export potential,” said the Minister.

The Minister was speaking at the launch of Ireland – The Design Island, a consultation paper towards a National Design Strategy.

This Paper was compiled by the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland at the request of the Government, following the very successful Year of Irish Design (ID2015) which promoted the value of design and Irish design capability both nationally and internationally. It is the product of an extensive consultation with the business sector, the design sector, design practitioners and organisations, and the third level sector.

An Taoiseach Enda Kenny together with Minister for Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation Mary Mitchell O’Connor today launched the Action Plan for Jobs 2017 at the offices of NDRC, the early stage investor in tech companies, in the Digital Hub.

The Action Plan for Jobs was introduced in 2012 as a key instrument of Government to support job creation. New plans are published annually, setting out clear actions and targets to help create positive conditions for job creation. The Whole-of-Government initiative sees all Government Departments and Agencies work together to deliver on agreed action points each year.

The target is to support the creation of 200,000 net additional jobs by 2020. There are nearly 190,000 more people employed now compared to when the first Action Plan was launched in 2012, surpassing the original target of an additional 100,000 jobs by 2016. According to CSO figures announced on Tuesday, the monthly unemployment figure for January 2017 is down to 7.1% from 8.5% in January 2016, the lowest since 2008. Employment is up by an average 10.6% across the country and over 2 million people are now at work.

A significant consideration in drawing up the Action Plan for 2017 was Brexit and the changing global trading environment. This year’s plan is at the core of the government’s response to the huge challenge these pose for businesses – to make sure our enterprise base is resilient in the face of changes to come.

The APJ 2017 is the first opportunity to set out a Whole of Government response to the volatility in the international trading environment.
The Action Plan sets out our response to Brexit in three areas:

· We are steadfast in our commitment to the EU, we will continue to benefit in terms of trade and investment and we will be prepared for whatever new trading relationship the UK has with the EU and Ireland

· Immediate steps are being taken to address the impact some firms are already experiencing as a result of Brexit. These include €3 million extra for Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland to recruit an additional 39 and 9 staff respectively to be deployed at home and in overseas offices to grow our exports and attract investment, an increased number of trade missions to drive export diversification, along with the specific measures in Budget 2017 to help enterprise prepare for the immediate future. Science Foundation Ireland is dedicating resources to developing Ireland as an attractive location for mobile, globally renowned researchers, including UK based researchers. We will address the short to medium term competitiveness challenges, diversify our trade footprint and build our presence in key markets and sectors. We are developing a new trade strategy to embed exports in the UK, grow share in Europe and North America and in new and emerging markets. We will also deliver actions to improve productivity and drive innovation, which will add value to our services and exports.

In addition to Brexit, there are specific actions on:
· An Export Finance Initiative, working with the Department of Finance/SBCI to roll out new support to export orientated SMEs, with a pilot in 2017
· Innovation 2020 – targets include €600 million in new RDI investment by FDI enterprises. EI to support 100 significant RDI projects and support for 850 enterprise-led collaborative projects
· Workplace Innovation, with a toolkit to be launched for employers and employees to engage in workplace innovation and a pilot programme roll-out
· Retail Support Programme with training developed to support retailers to scale up their online trading activity and expand into international markets
· Launch of a Design4Growth initiative in regions
· Launch of a competitive Start Fund for female entrepreneurs
· Development of a whole of Government approach to realise opportunities in the digital economy across all sectors, including a stakeholder summit in Q1
· A combination of measures to support senior entrepreneurship, get women back to work and for long term unemployed
· A ‘Think Small First’ SME test for new regulations to reduce red tape.

Speaking at today’s launch, the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny said: “The Action Plan for Jobs 2017 sets out the Government’s response to the challenges of an uncertain external environment by ensuring that our economy remains sustainable, competitive and resilient. We will focus on getting the basics right including improving our competitiveness performance, ensuring our skills pipeline is aligned to labour market needs, driving innovation and promoting entrepreneurship and ensuring finance is available at competitive cost to support and underpin growth. We need to build our trading resilience and we will help our ambitious enterprises diversify their markets, with a significant increase in Ministerial-led trade missions in 2017. We will remain vigilant to external changes with potentially significant implications for our economic well-being, and we will be agile in anticipating and responding to them”.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor said: “This year’s Action Plan has never been more important, with Brexit and other challenges in our external trading environment. We remain committed to transforming the economy to one based on innovation and export-led growth and the Action Plan for Jobs 2017 sets short and medium terms responses to the volatility in the wider trading and investment environment. I am convinced that the effective delivery of the Action Plan can support the creation by business in all sectors and regions of an additional 45,000 jobs in 2017, towards our target of achieving full employment and an extra 200,000 at work by 2020. The Action Plans for Jobs have proved hugely successful and the whole-of-Government approach adopted has supported the creation of an average 40,000 jobs each year since the Plan was introduced.”

Minister of State for Employment & Small Business, Pat Breen speaking at the launch said “Small businesses are the backbone of the Irish economy and are making a huge contribution to the recovery in every region of the country. As Minister of State for Employment and Small Business I want to make sure that we are doing all that we can to support them by cutting red tape, reducing costs, providing low cost finance and providing easier access to public procurement opportunities.”
Minister of State for Training, Skills & Innovation, John Halligan said: “Action Plan for Jobs 2017 reaffirms the important role that talent and innovation play in job creation, even more so now in the context of Brexit. As Minister of State for Training, Skills and Innovation I will be working to achieve our ambition of becoming a Global Innovation Leader as set out in Innovation 2020 and ensure we are renowned internationally for our world class people and ideas”

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor has given assurances that challenges and opportunities for enterprise posed by Brexit are a priority for her Department and Agencies.

The Minister was speaking in advance of a major stakeholder engagement event she is hosting in Carrick-on-Shannon on Monday 30th January. The purpose of this event is to facilitate a dialogue with stakeholders about the impacts, challenges and opportunities arising as a result of the UK decision to leave the EU, across the broad range of policy areas for which the Department is responsible.

The Minister also announced 39 extra staff for Enterprise Ireland’s overseas offices and in the Irish based team to support exporting companies in the context of Brexit. Staff will be assigned to:

§ Markets that are growing and have scale (including China, India, Latin America, Africa);
§ Markets where we are already well established but with potential for further growth (including UK, France, Benelux, Germany, USA, the Nordics).
In addition, IDA Ireland will hire 9 additional staff and relaunch their Graduate Programme.

Minister Mitchell O’Connor outlined a range of activity already undertaken by her Department and Agencies, including:

§ Regular Ministerial engagement with companies exporting to the UK to hear directly how Brexit impacts on them. Immediately following the result of the UK vote, the Minister began a series of meetings with key stakeholders, including representative bodies such as SFA, ISME, Chambers, the Irish Exporters Association, IBEC and the British Irish Chamber of Commerce, among others.
§ Completion of a contingency risk assessment of the potential impacts of Brexit across policy areas of the Department – this was undertaken in advance of the referendum result ,and work continues since then to refine these assessments;
§ Establishment of a Coordination Group on Brexit, which the Minister chairs consisting of CEOs of IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, and relevant enterprise, single market and trade officials from the Department to oversee implementation of our response;
§ Establishment of a Senior Officials Group on Brexit to support the Management Board in ensuring a coherent and coordinated approach to Brexit across all areas of the Department.
§ Creation of a dedicated Brexit unit to coordinate the Department’s policy response, including the Department’s approach to negotiations within the EU and bilateral relations with the UK;
§ Minister Mitchell O’Connor participates in the Brexit Cabinet Committee, chaired by the Taoiseach.
§ The Minister has also met with her UK and a number of EU counterparts to stress the unique impact of Brexit on Ireland and plans to continue that engagement. In the coming months, with a series of visits to European capitals to meet her Ministerial counterparts in the coming months
§ Securing of an additional €52 million in Capital funding to support further job creation, innovation and support Irish companies to respond to the challenges and opportunities from Brexit. This represents a 10 % increase in the Department’s capital budget.

Speaking about the important role being played by the Development Agencies, the Minister said: “I have tasked my Department officials with making Brexit their number one priority. Since the UK vote last June I have had particularly intensive engagement with the CEOs of the Agencies to ensure that they are responding to national, UK and EU developments to maximum effect for business. We have a clear plan of action and are fully committed to supporting business to deal with the challenges and opportunities posed by the UK exit from the EU.”

The Minister continued, “Enterprise Ireland and the LEOs are working steadily with companies to ensure they are prepared to respond to challenges. I have put in place a structured dialogue with companies of different sizes, across different sectors and regions. This involves focus groups and a survey of a thousand businesses. I expect the results of this comprehensive survey to be with me in the next week. This will give me a clear evidence base in terms of what SMEs want and need”.

The Minister said it is important not to lose sight of, and capitalise on, opportunities emerging for Ireland as a result of UK withdrawing from the EU: “Ireland’s value proposition remains strong including, in particular, our continued membership of the EU and access to the Single Market. We are very much open for business. I’ve secured additional funding to IDA Ireland to help them target key markets and secure investments.”

John Halligan TD, Minister of State for Training, Skills and Innovation, will also attend the event and address the challenges in the research, development and innovation space as a result of Brexit. Minister Halligan said, “Investment in innovation is critical to creating and sustaining a knowledge economy. Ireland is one of the leading Research, Development and Innovation locations in the world. We offer an ideal commercial, political and social environment for companies to carry out successful and profitable RDI activities. The Government has committed to a target of investing 2.5% of GNP in R&D and delivering on this will be even more critical in the context of the UK decision to leave the EU.

There is no doubt there are challenges associated with Brexit but I believe there are also opportunities. While the UK is an important partner for us in Horizon 2020(the EU Framework Programme for Research & Innovation), we are well diversified in international collaboration through Horizon 2020 having strong partnerships in particular, with Germany, Spain and France. There are opportunities for us to build stronger alliances with other Member States as well as continuing bilateral research collaboration with the UK which we do outside our EU membership.”

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NOTES:

Stakeholder Event
As part of the Government’s ongoing dialogue with stakeholders in relation to the impacts of the UK’s decision to leave the EU, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation is organising this event to engage with stakeholders across the broad range of policy areas for which the Department is responsible.

This event, which is being held in the Bush Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon on 30th January 2017, is an important element in the Government’s preparations to meet the broad range of all-island challenges arising from Brexit. It provides an opportunity to hear the voices of people affected by the vote, both directly and through representative groups.

This event is part of a series of All Island Sectoral Dialogues which are being held across the country as part of the Government’s consultative work on Brexit, and to facilitate a more detailed consideration of its impact across a range of key sectors.

The key outputs and learnings from this event will form an input to the second All Island Civic Dialogue, due to take place on 17 February in Dublin.

Brexit Update Service
A Government Brexit Update Service email alert, issued by the Government Information Service, is now available. This service outlines the latest Irish Government developments on the UK’s decision to leave the EU. This service issues regular updates on a variety of information regarding Brexit. You can sign up to this free service by completing the contact information form here: http://eepurl.com/cxVh-v.

Investment will see employment levels more than double to 550 since implementation of 2009 restructuring plan

Investment welcomed by Ministers Mary Mitchell O’Connor and Pat Breen

Element Six, a world leader in synthetic diamond super-materials and member of The De Beers Group of Companies, has today announced the creation of a further 100 jobs at its Shannon facility as part of a €7million investment at the plant this year.

The investment – officially announced today at a briefing at the plant hosted by Element Six Executive Director of Operations Ken Sullivan and attended by Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Pat Breen and the company’s global CEO Mr. Walter Hühn – will bring to €40million the overall spend by Element Six at Shannon over a four year period.

The positions are in the areas of supply chain, engineering and manufacturing, with recruitment already underway and all posts set to be filled in the first half of this year. It is the latest round of recruitment at the company and will bring overall employment at Element Six in Shannon to 550.

The company has invested heavily in infrastructural projects at the plant over the past three years, including the installation of large-scale diamond synthesis presses to produce diamond materials for industrial use. In addition, high end CNC machines have been designed and installed to process these materials. Today’s announcement signals another round of investment that will enable the synthesis and processing of diamond materials at the Shannon plant for use principally in the Oil and Gas industry.

Announcing the investment and job creation at the plant this morning, Mr Hühn said: “This is a significant moment for Element Six and its staff in Shannon as it is validation of the hard work of our management and staff here in turning the business around. Thanks to a culture of continuous improvement, the use of world-class manufacturing techniques and efficiency and quality gains, our Shannon operations have now taken on additional, global cutting-edge processes, leading to this investment and considerably enhanced employment levels.

“Oil and Gas is a volatile industry but the improvements and investment here at Shannon ensures we are as future-proofed as possible going forward. A key influencer is the operating environment, which is considerably better now in Ireland. In return, we have invested heavily and created high-value jobs for the region.”

Welcoming the announcement, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Mary Mitchell O’Connor, TD, said: “Today’s announcement by Element Six is further evidence of the very competitive operating environment we have in Ireland, including in the regions. In 2009 the company cited the ‘high cost of operating in Ireland’ when it was on the brink of closure. But a combination of the improved operating environment and commitment of staff has transformed operations to a level that the company has more than doubled its employment here since. The addition of 100 extra jobs is a great vote of confidence for the region which has much to offer companies who wish to grow their businesses in Ireland. I wish Element Six and the team every success in the future.”

Speaking at today’s event, Minister for Employment and Small Business Pat Breen stated: “This is a very important day for Element Six, for Shannon and, indeed, the wider Clare and Mid-West area. This announcement is a very strong endorsement of the Shannon Free Zone as a leading destination for innovation and job creation.

“With an international airport on its doorstep, a highly competitive operating environment, available talent and excellent and ever-improving infrastructure, we believe the future is very bright for Shannon as an inward investment location. Element Six’s commitment, not least through its very significant investment in high-end, innovative processes at the plant is very welcome and I wish the team the very best for the future.

“It also highlights the commitment of staff and management here over the years. In 2009 we all feared that this very significant employer would be lost to Clare but thanks to the collective determination, from the management and staff and agencies like the IDA, Element Six’s operations here are entirely reenergised and it is today one of the county’s largest employers with 550 high-value jobs set to be in place by the second half of the year.”

IDA Chief Executive Martin Shanahan said: “Element Six is a global leader in its field and for it to make this level of investment in cutting edge processes in Shannon and have the footprint it now has in Shannon sends a very positive message around the globe about this area as an attractive inward investment location. We have worked closely with Element Six over the years and look forward to continuing that relationship and the company’s continued and valued impact on the Mid-West regional economy here into the future. The Mid-West has been a significant beneficiary of FDI over the past 2 years.”

Ken Sullivan, Element Six Executive Director of Operations said:  “Element Six has a 60 year history at Shannon and today’s announcement very much signals that we have entered a new era in terms of our operations here.  A strong spirit of partnership has sustained us through a very challenging period and, in no small part thanks to the commitment of staff to this partnership approach, we have emerged as one of the biggest and best employers in the Shannon region.

“Element Six is a really exciting place to work and remains one of the best employers in the region. We have many opportunities for career progression at all levels and across multiple disciplines. Given that many of our improvement projects are shop-floor led, strengthens the spirit of partnership and continuous improvement.”

Craigavon based global contract pharmaceutical development and manufacturing organisation, Almac Group, has secured new premises in Dundalk, County Louth to support its ongoing global expansion plans in response to increased client demand.

Almac will make a £ multimillion investment in the new facility at IDA Business Park. The expansion has been supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through IDA Ireland, Ireland’s inward investment promotion agency.

The facility will be utilised by Almac Pharma Services and Almac Clinical Services, both of which are registered to operate in the Republic of Ireland. The new premises increases the Group’s European footprint by 32,000sq ft and provides continued presence within the European Union in the long term.

This investment comes just weeks after Almac confirmed ambitious plans to expand its operations at its global Headquarters in Northern Ireland with the construction of a new laboratory and additional office facilities. The company simultaneously announced investment at its North American site creating an additional 300 new, full time jobs. These investments will see an increase of Almac’s global headcount to over 5,000 by the end of 2017.

Alan Armstrong, CEO Almac Group commented: “This latest investment in Dundalk is a further example of Almac’s ambitious global expansion plans and will deliver up to an additional 100 new jobs within the first two years. This news comes in addition to our recent announcement of a £27m investment at our global Headquarter site in Craigavon, our US operations and our European facility in Athlone. All of this is evidence of Almac’s commitment to provide best-in-class products and services to our clients across the world and we would like to thank all those who have supported us to date.”

Welcoming the investment by Almac, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor said: “This is a very exciting project for Dundalk and builds on the strong cluster of multinational companies who have very successfully located in that town in recent years and who have found it a great base from which to promote their sales into other EU Member States. Ireland’s expertise in the Pharma sector is unrivalled, with virtually all the major international players having operations here, thus generating synergies and opportunities for new companies investing with us. These additional 100 jobs to be provided are very welcome and we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial engagement with Almac into the future”.

Martin Shanahan, CEO, IDA Ireland said “Almac’s decision to expand into Dundalk provides the company with certainty of access to the European Union in the long term– this certainty of access is an increasingly important selling point for Ireland as we look to win business for Ireland. IDA Ireland will continue to promote Ireland as an ideal location for companies from a range of sectors including pharmaceuticals, IT and financial services that are looking to ensure that they have a presence in the European single market.”

This investment strengthens Almac’s existing presence in the Republic of Ireland following the acquisition of Arran Chemical Company facility in Athlone in 2015. The facility has expanded the company’s biocatalysis services, which is part of Almac’s Sciences Business Unit.

Deloitte, which works with 90 per cent of the world’s largest financial institutions opened its new EMEA blockchain lab at Whitaker Court in Dublin’s “Silicon Docks” district earlier this week.

This new bespoke designed lab builds on Deloitte’s global fintech and innovation practice which involves a network of labs around the world including a major lab on Wall Street. Blockchain is an evolving technology which has the capacity to change the way digital services are provided globally in all sectors of business.

The Dublin based blockchain team will now move from its current location at Deloitte Ireland HQ, with the highly skilled design and development team growing from 25 to 50 during 2017.

Speaking about the opening David Dalton, Financial Services Partner, Deloitte said:

“We are still at the early stages of the adoption of blockchain technology. But it is becoming increasingly clear that this technology is transforming the infrastructure underpinning financial services and other industries. It is bringing dramatic improvements in efficiency and customer experience.”

This Dublin located blockchain lab is located in the Silicon Docks area among neighbours including Google, Facebook and others. It opens with the existing team of more than 25 blockchain developers and designers and this team will be joined by 25 more by year end.

The team’s mission can be seen as a “concept to product” one. It first develops strategic blockchain capabilities and proofs of concept; these concepts are then developed into functioning prototypes, and these ultimately become “ready-to-integrate” solutions for Deloitte clients.

In addition to the official opening of the new lab, Monday also marked the launch of a number of products which have been built by the Dublin based team.

Lory Kehoe, Consulting Director and EMEA blockchain lab lead, Deloitte said:

“Our Dublin blockchain lab is part of Deloitte’s global approach dubbed “The Grid”. Through this our team here work alongside specialist teams from other countries and also with Deloitte’s network of more than a dozen preferred technology companies. We look forward to being a key element of the continued growth of Blockchain.”

Speaking about the official opening of Deloitte’s new Blockchain Lab, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor said; “I am very pleased that Deloitte is expanding its Blockchain research activities in Dublin, as part of the company’s worldwide research in this area. The Financial Services industry has been a huge success story for this country and we need to be engaged with new and emerging technologies in that sector. Blockchain is attracting significant worldwide attention due to its range of potential applications in the wider Financial Services area and it is great news that Ireland will be at the heart of this exciting development, helping to push out the frontiers, for our mutual benefit”.

Deloitte’s global blockchain team, consisting of more than 800 professionals across 20 countries, works with international organisations looking to introduce blockchain-enabled solutions. To date, Deloitte has developed more than 30 blockchain-related prototypes, covering a uses such as digital identity, digital banking, cross-border payments, trade finance, and loyalty and rewards solutions, as well as distinct efforts for the investment management and insurance sectors.

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, T.D. welcomed the publication of “Realising our Rural Potential – Action Plan for Rural Development”, by her colleague, Minister Heather Humphreys.

Minister Mitchell O’Connor said “A vibrant and competitive rural Ireland is important, not just from an economic perspective, but also from a societal point of view. This Action Plan is an ambitious initiative which contains a strong focus on the creation and retention of jobs in rural areas and is very much aligned with the Action Plan for Jobs and the Regional Action Plans for Jobs under the remit of my Department.”

“My Department has worked closely with the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs on the development of the Plan, particularly on the Enterprise & Employment theme, where key actions include:
· implementation of the Regional Action Plan for Jobs;
· roll out of competitive regional funding of up to €50m from Enterprise Ireland;
· delivery of an increase in FDI of 30-40% in each of the 8 regions, and
· strengthening local enterprise development and job creation through the LEOs and Enterprise Ireland.”

The Minister added, “Broadband is an essential infrastructure for economic and social activity in so many areas and is absolutely essential for enterprise development and growth. Its importance for regional development cannot be underestimated. I welcome, therefore, the fact that a key focus in the Rural Plan is to address Ireland’s connectivity challenges, including the acceleration of broadband roll out and improvements to mobile phone reception in rural areas.”

The retail sector within towns and villages throughout Ireland will also benefit from the roll out of the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and this will contribute to making rural Ireland a better place to work and live.”

The Minister concluded, “I look forward to working with Minister Humphreys in the future in the implementation of the Rural Action Plan.”