Seán Barrett
Ceist:49 Mr. Barrett asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the sectoral areas in which he expects the establishment of clusters; and the special measures, if any, he has sanctioned to support clusters.
Written Answers. - Establishment of Industrial Clusters.
The Culliton report recommended that the pursuit of a more focused approach to industrial development should seek to facilitate and assist the establishment of industrial clusters based on existing sources of national competitive advantage. The report indicated that incipient cluster development was evident in relation to the food industry in the Cork region and aeronautical engineering activity in the Limerick region.
The fostering of clusters related to established competitive advantage in industrial segments has proved highly successful in other industrialised countries, for example in the development of machinery and process equipment industries in Germany related to its expertise in mechanical engineering.
The process of identifying a number of industrial segments that might form the basis of successful clusters in Ireland will require a study of the competitive advantage of industrial sectors here and of the potential for building on our existing advantages and strengths. Work in this regard is on-going. The appropriate measures to be taken in support of the development of industrial clusters will be determined in the light of the outcome of this work.