A new horizon

THE importance of foreign direct investment (FDI) for this country has been reaffirmed by Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan who said it has been, and will continue to be, a catalyst for our national prosperity.

She was speaking at the launch of Horizon 2020, IDA Ireland’s strategic blueprint for attracting FDI into Ireland in the coming decade. This initiative, she said, is an integral part of the Government’s smart economy policy.
“FDI companies create hundreds of thousands of high-quality jobs, both for the employees of the investing companies and in the firms, including indigenous firms that provide them with goods and services. Securing such investments can also play a pivotal role in rejuvenating part of a city, a town or region where employment opportunities are limited,” she said.
Under the new programme, the IDA has set very ambitious targets for delivering FDI. By 2014, they are committed to creating 105,000 jobs, investing an annual €1.78 billion per year on research and development investments, ensuring that 20% of greenfield investments are created from emerging markets and refocusing their efforts on balanced regional development by committing 50% of investments to areas outside of Dublin and Cork.
The Mid-West, which has taken a severe hammering in terms of job losses over the past couple of years, is well entitled to expect a decent share of any new industries that might flow into the country.
Fine Gael’s deputy spokesperson on foreign affairs, Pat Breen has made his pitch for Clare, citing the availability of the US pre-clearance facilities as an opportunity to encourage multinationals to base their head offices here.
He sees additional marketing funding for the airport and region as vital to making headway in any jobs drive. The retention of a daily direct service from Shannon to the US and an expansion of short-haul services are also a must. At least there was a positive in this regard when Ryanair this week reversed its decision to cancel the Shannon to Liverpool and Edinburgh services.
As part of Horizon 2010, the role of IDA has to transform and in doing so serve as a catalyst for change, according to IDA CEO, Barry O’Leary. IDA believes that the success of its new strategy depends on an unprecedented level of collaboration from all stakeholders in the Irish economic eco-system to continuously adapt: Government, IDA, sister development agencies, higher education institutes, current multinational base and indigenous entrepreneurs; who together comprise the group that IDA refers to as ‘Team Ireland’.
Cue the Mid-West Task Force, Shannon Development, Shannon Airport Authority, Atlantic Way and various other interest groups to get in on the act and make sure the region’s needs are not overlooked by the IDA.

Children seeking help
THE nation’s greatest resource, our children, are reaching out for help in staggering numbers. The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) disclosed this week that almost 816,000 calls were received by its Childline service last year, 150,000 more than in 2008.
Childline, which has been in existence for the past 22 years, is a free phone service (1800 66 66 66) available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for people up to the age of 18. This kind of support allows the young person to make contact with the ISPCC without meeting someone face to face and allows the caller to feel safe in not having to identify themselves.
Children in families where domestic violence is commonplace, children who are suffering abuse, children being subjected to bullying at school or children who are depressed are unburdening their thoughts and feelings to trained listeners at the Childline service. Broken relationships and concerns about pregnancy are also among the issues raised. Many of the callers just feel more comfortable turning to an advice service rather than confiding in family or friends about their problems.
A disconcerting aspect of the latest figures is that some 300,000 of the calls made to Childline went unanswered – a reflection on lack of manpower rather than the service itself. The ISPCC wants to see a marked improvement on the response level.
Long-time supporters of the ISPCC, Westlife, were this week unveiled as ambassadors for the organisation at the launch its “Who’s Calling” awareness initiative, the aim of which is to highlight the difficulties that Ireland’s children are contacting the service with.
In the year past, when the county’s terrible history of child abuse was further scrutinised, and when families nationwide were struggling under increasing financial strain, a huge number of the calls to Childline concerned abuse and violence and difficulties within the family.
Since it was first launched, Childline volunteers have listened to almost three million children in Ireland with over 500,000 of those in 2009. Even if there is no major increase in the number of calls in the comings years, to hit the target of answering all calls will stretch the resources of the voluntary organisation.
Childline costs the ISPCC over €4 million a year to run. The 25% increase in calls last year comes after a 4% increase in 2008 over 2007 and a 9% increase between 2006 and 2007.
Other ISPCC services include Childline Text, an automated service that supports young people by providing a free text support service. Email support is also available for all young people by accessing www.childline.ie.
While the ISPCC would welcome additional support, we as a society must look more closely at what gives rise to the problems that push children and teenagers to turning to Childline.