The new innovation centre of Waterford Institute of Technology was opened last week, days before 1,500 workers in Waterford Crystal began a week without pay when the firm's plants in Waterford and Dungarvan shut.
Officials at the new centre believe the south-east region can become a focus for high-tech industries, many of which can be established by local entrepreneurs.
The new centre has two main parts. The first, the South-East Enterprise Platform Programme, provides business development and financial support to graduate entrepreneurs who are judged to have a sustainable idea. The second, the Telecommunications Software Systems Group, is a research and technology group which also works with local small- to medium-sized enterprises.
At the opening, the Tβnaiste, Ms Harney, said in the current global economic climate, it is vital for the State to continue to foster indigenous enterprises.
Waterford, traditionally an employment black spot, now stands closer to the national unemployment average of 3.7 per cent, said Mr Pat Loftus, the IDA's regional manager for the south-east region.
Certainly there has been structural unemployment in Waterford, said Mr Loftus. But the region's industrial landscape is changing from traditional manufacturing to knowledge-based industry.
Furthermore, manufacturing industries in the region will now tend to make "higher value" products.
"Waterford needs to rebalance its work portfolio," said Mr Frank O'Donoghue, chief executive, Waterford Chamber of Commerce.
"An interesting statistic is that 33 per cent of the workforce in Waterford works in manufacturing industry compared to 15 to 16 per cent in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway."
There hasn't been much of the newer types of industry, something which the new innovation centre hopefully will change, he said.
The enterprise platform programme first focused on various craft-based industries when it was set up in 1997. It has since narrowed its focus to concentrate on developing high-tech companies, said manager, Ms Ann Marie Phelan.
This redefinition, she said, is mainly due to the success of four companies in the region which were developed from the centre: Headway Software Ltd, Technology Sales Leads, NutriScience Ltd, and ETC International.
After their success, the enterprise platform realised there was great expertise in the high-tech sector. Each of these companies, set up in the second year of the programme, are now based in the region and plan to expand, said Ms Phelan.
As more local entrepreneurs set up their companies in the region, a cluster of high-tech industries has started to develop. She said this hopefully would lead to the start of other industrial clusters in areas such as biotechnology, food science, and tourism.
Last May, the Cabinet took the crucial decision to sanction a substantial grant aid proposal from the IDA for a £200 million biotechnology project in Waterford city that will deliver 480 jobs over the next five years.
Having other high-tech companies in a region is important for business networking, said Mr Eamonn de Leastar, technical manager, Telecommunications Softward Systems Group.
He said the IDA had previously shown visiting industrialists the region as a possible business location, but the lack of similar industries in the area was a disincentive.
The Institute of Technology also turned out high-quality graduates who left the area, some of whom would have liked to have started up businesses, he said.
The systems group has received almost £4 million in funding since its inception in 1997. But there continues to be barriers to the region's development.
"We need further infrastructural support. The development of Waterford regional airport is vital, as are proper rail and road systems," said Ms Phelan. Access is necessary as many existing high-tech companies trade in the global market.
The telecommunications infrastructure could also be improved to ensure the region is "wired up", she said.
The current economic downturn, and the slowdown in the high-tech sector, "is a blip along the way", said Mr Loftus. "We will come out strong at the other side of the downturn with innovative ideas," he said.
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