February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
She was determined to stick with the message that Ireland once again, as in the 1990s, is the best place for American companies to invest in Europe. But pressed by reporters, she commented on other issues too, asserting the Irish government’s rectitude in supporting the American-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein by allowing U.S. military planes to refuel at Shannon Airport.
“Saddam Hussein was an evil, vicious person,” she said, speaking at 1 Hanover Square in Lower Manhattan.
Currently, Iraq was “not a perfect situation,” but she insisted his over throw had been the right policy.
The period leading up to and including the war in Iraq earlier this year saw angry anti-American protests in Ireland, and military transport planes were damaged at Shannon Airport.
Anti-Americanism, however, Harney said Thursday, has in no way damaged U.S.-Irish corporate relations.
“Biotechnology is the story. I don’t think there is a perception of anti-Americanism here,” she said. “The values of the EU and the U.S. are shared. America is Ireland’s second biggest market after the UK. If they can make it here, they can make anywhere.”
The “they” she was referring to is the delegation of Irish biotech company representatives who were accompanying Harney on a trade tour of Canada and the U.S., an event hosted by BioLink USA-Ireland. It’s an organization that connects Irish life scientists currently living in the U.S. with each other and with the life sciences community in Ireland.
Irish government representatives, including Harney, have been promoting the biotech industry in Ireland for several years, saying that there is enough knowledge and expertise in Ireland to make for a considerable growth industry if American companies become involved. There is the potential, they say, for a 1990s-style boom in Ireland, or perhaps even greater growth.
If the industry is nurtured, that is.
An Ireland Chamber of Commerce in the United States conference in Philadelphia in April 2003 highlighted that already the biotech industry generates more than $500 billion worldwide, half of which is in the U.S. (The Philadelphia region is home to 80 percent of the world’s leading biotech companies.)
Biotechnology is the use of microorganisms, such as bacteria or yeasts, or biological substances, such as enzymes, to perform specific industrial, medical or manufacturing processes. The manipulation of stem cells may raise ethical questions, but there is enormous potential for this field of work to find cures for illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Harney played down expectations to a certain extent, saying that 10 years may roll by before the industry is really growing. She foresees “a lot of monitoring and grandfathering” by government agencies and promoting events like last week’s trade trip.
Dr. Richard Fernandes of Biotrin International, also on the trip from Ireland, agreed with Harney.
“Building the industry may take the better part of a decade,” he said, “but there’s tremendous support.”
Adrian Coyle represented another biotech company, Luxcell.
“We can learn from the example of the software industry,” he said. “The key thing is that there is good science in Ireland to be exploited.”
Government-funded organizations such as Enterprise Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland and BioLink USA-Ireland help coordinate funding and provide information and public relations work to boost the industry.
A key criticism of Irish government policy in attracting U.S. investment has been that it has relied too heavily on presenting Ireland as a source of cheap labor. When cheaper labor was located elsewhere, U.S. companies would leave.
Not the case this time, say biotech enthusiasts, because Ireland has many young highly educated experts in the field.
But will true innovation in the biotech field come from fledgling Irish biotech companies or will it remain in its traditional centers, the U.S. and the larger European states? That remains to be seen.