As the Deputy may be aware, I announced last Friday, 28 April that, following consideration of proposals from me by the Cabinet, discussions had commenced between an expert group chaired by Forfás — the policy and advisory board for industrial development — and Citywest concerning the establishment of a science and technology park at the Citywest Business Campus on the Naas Road.
The Government believes that the considerable investment that has already taken place in the Citywest campus and the high quality design concept involved provides an ideal opportunity to develop a science and technology park in a timely and cost-effective manner at that location.
Obviously, a key aim of such a park is to promote greater synergy between providers and users of knowledge so that third level resources are harnessed and applied to greatest national economic benefit.
To that extent, the co-operation of the three Dublin universities and the Dublin Institute of Technology has been invaluable in getting the idea off the ground. I look forward to their ongoing participation and that of the Regional Technical College at Tallaght. I greatly appreciate their public statement of support for the project.
It is the hope that the mission statement of the working group on the science and technology park will be realised. It was to the effect that the Dublin science and technology park will build on the research, technical and business development and knowledgebased skills of all the Dublin colleges and of the other knowledge based businesses created in Dublin in order to attract inward investment in knowledgebased industry, high technology manufacturing, R & D and skill-based international services; that it will bring together entrepreneurial driven indigenous companies to provide mutual support in a growth phase on the park; that it will create new and further develop existing networks which help to sustain new businesses in developing areas; that it will provide services from college and college-based research teams to clients of the park and, via networks, to international markets and that it will provide any ancillary activities related to the foregoing.