Vision 2030 Jan. 2012 | Page 96

Green Economic Zone An tSlí Ghlas – The Green Way With its worldwide reputation as a successful location for foreign direct investment, Ireland is now also emerging as a significant location for investors in the cleantech industry, largely due to natural resource advantages backed by a talented and skilled workforce, a thriving research and development environment, and pro-cleantech government policies. The Green Way (An tSlí Ghlas) was conceived in response to the 2009 Report of the Government’s High-Level Action Group on Green Enterprise which stated that “Ireland needs to develop one or more green zones in order to create an environment that can support the development of green enterprise and be used to market Ireland overseas”. The Green Way is being proposed by a powerful alliance of key organisations in the North Dublin City Region including Fingal County Council, Dublin City Council, Ballymun Regeneration Ltd., Dublin City University, Dublin Airport Authority, Dublin Institute of Technology and North Dublin Chamber of Commerce. The vision of the founding partners is: “To develop an internationally-recognised Green Economic Zone complementing planned and existing infrastructural investment, where all participants- public and private, Irish and international - are working in unison, to deliver vibrant and highly adaptable job-creating enterprises, building on proven capabilities to innovate, regenerate and transform.” The Green Way founding partners are in a position of major influence in terms of driving the