Chapter 7
Economy and Employment
Issues / Recommendations / Observations
Sub. No.
Chief Executive’s Response & Recommendation
The Cork Science and Innovation Park is a strategic employment site on a 35 ha campus and will include employment uses and lands to accommodate the expansion of MTU. Incubation space to facilitate student entrepreneurship can be facilitated at this and other locations throughout the city. Paragraph 7.26 already includes text to support the “stre ngthening and expanding the education and training ecosystem in Cork City”. Paragraphs 7.24 to 7.26 sets out the policy approach to Support Innovation, Research and Development – An Innovation City. The development of cyber- security and New Space clusters is supported in this regard. Recommendation: Update paragraph 7.22 as follows: It is important that the economy of the city is not overly dependent on FDI diverse and resilient and includes a balanced mix of FDI and Indigenous Enterprise . Cork City Council will continue to harness entrepreneurship in the city. Acting as a first-stop-shop, Cork City Local Enterprise Office (LEO) will continue to support small businesses in Cork. In addition, the City Council will work with Enterprise Ireland, academia and local communities to support entrepreneurship, development of indigenous industry and business start-ups throughout the city.
• The draft plan places a very significant emphasis on innovation and a solid emphasis on entrepreneurship. From an overall perspective, however, the level of emphasis on entrepreneurship should be further increased in light of global developments which will require great development of indigenous industry in the greater Cork region and nationally.
Provide student entrepreneurship on a region-wide basis, reserving incubation space and partnering with the higher education sector to support this strategic development of an entrepreneurship culture and talent pipeline to drive sustainable regional development and expansion of indigenous industry. specific supports for
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• In light of the rapid development and deployment of online learning options during the COVID-19 pandemic, include advanced technology-enhanced learning options in a wide range of facilities across Cork City to facilitate increased access to higher education within community settings. This would provide increased access to higher education for all of the people who live in Cork City. • Cork is very well positioned to develop specialist clusters in areas such as Cybersecurity. Consideration should be given to how best to capitalise on these opportunities in the development plan for Cork City. • In light of the rapid development of “new space” sector and Cork’s strategic positioning (both geographically and from an industry development
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