This article is from page 6 of the 2008-09-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
WercLammau rea ote potential export compa- nies are doing well, de- spite the recession.
He was commenting on reports that there have been 617 redundancies in Clare since the begin- ning of the year and that unemployment figures have risen in the county month on month.
He said that applications for assist- ance with start-up funding are still rolling in from all over Clare and ex- pansion and building plans are going ahead in many areas.
Enterprise Ireland is supporting 123 enterprises in the region, em- ploying 1,843 jobs, a net growth of 87 on this time last year (as can be seen in the table on the right).
In indigenous companies involved in manufacturing and internationally traded service, there has been a net gain of 395 jobs. Enterprise Ireland supported 20 companies in Clare to the tune of €3 million in 2008 , ind1- cating a healthy potential for invest- ment and growth, he said.
“We support community enterprise also and we have applications in from Ennistymon, who are looking
to employ a business development manager and from Kilrush for a new community enterprise building, to the tune of €2 million. There is still a healthy interest in start-up busi- ness, particularly in the international services sector,’ Mr Moloney added.
Another sector doing well is high-
potential start-ups which
look to international
trade from the outset.
These have the potential
to grow sales in excess of
€1 million and create 10
jobs in three years. The
enterprise agency 1S cur-
rently supporting 27 such
oyenhey-bavCow pom melomucscele)E
“The slump in the con-
struction sector has ac-
counted for a large number of jobs
losses but companies which have
found a niche market and companies
which are dealing internationally are still doing well,” he said.
‘People who have the best potential to do well from a start-up are those coming from a multi-national back- eround. We’re currently talking to people from companies like Avocent and Sykes who are interested in their own start-ups.”
Mr Moloney pointed out that ex- ports have risen nationally from €10 billion in 2003 to €13.18 billion in 2007. “This year’s figures will prob- ably be relatively static because of the strength of the dollar and for companies to hold their position would be a good result. But it’s not all gloom and doom,” he said.