Innovation Task Force on The Framework for Sustainable Economic ...

AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
1BSUBMISSION
Taking Decisions to Position Ireland Positively for the Next Global Economic Upturn
In the context of the Government’s Framework for Sustainable Economic Renewal,
Building Ireland’s Smart Economy and the Strategy for Science, Technology and
<strong>Innovation</strong>, and drawing on lessons from successful international and national
models, the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland is pleased to make its
submission to the <strong>Innovation</strong> <strong>Task</strong> <strong>Force</strong>.
While Ireland continues to face increasing competition from lower cost economies
for foreign direct investment, its Strategy for Science, Technology and <strong>Innovation</strong>
has successfully transformed our economic aspiration to develop a credible base,
in a global context, of research and innovation. We share its underlying and
critical objective that this investment in our future must create economic success.
The American Chamber of Commerce is strongly of the opinion that a competitive
cost base is a necessary starting condition for industry to retain and grow
employment in Ireland. We believe that there is considerable potential for the
cost-base to be re-engineered to maintain high standards of living with greater
employment levels. Industry has considerable experience of this in its own
environment and is willing to share this practice if the public system is flexible and
motivated enough to commit itself to reform.
Given a competitive cost base, the American Chamber believes that there is
significant opportunity for an innovation-led industrial strategy focused on creating
enterprise and jobs in high-value, export-led sectors making use of research,
science and technology with a significant tax and incentive bias. Importantly, it
believes that the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) base can provide an important
conduit to expedite the creation of a new indigenous base of enterprise that is
significant (employment) in scale and globally focused.