Galway city focus for LookWest.ie Enterprise Campaign

-- Press release --

The Western Development Commission’s (WDC), LookWest.ie advertising and publicity campaign is, this week, focussing on Galway city.  In partnership with Galway City Council, the campaign will aim to attract enterprises and individuals to Galway city.  It will target business owners in the Greater Dublin Area, the rest of the country and the Irish communities abroad, as well as encouraging Galway people to promote the county to friends and family who live away.
The Galway city business featuring in the advertising campaign is Crospon Limited.  The company was founded in 2006 to develop leading edge medical devices for endocrinology and gastroenterology.  Founder and Managing Director John O’Dea, who is originally form Dublin, felt there was nowhere better than Galway City to locate the business because of the huge pool of readily available expertise in the city who have worked with some of the best multinationals in the medical device business.

The overall LookWest.ie campaign, focuses on a different local authority area over a seven-week period, and was launched by Éamon Ó Cuív TD, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and Gillian Buckley, CEO of the WDC.  Ms Buckley said, “The focus of the LookWest.ie campaign this year is on enterprise and entrepreneurs by highlighting some of the many successful companies who have decided to locate in the region, attracted by the availability of a highly skilled workforce and a truly attractive business environment.

Joe MacGrath, City Manager said’ “Galway City, the region’s capital is the major employment centre for the Western Region and acts as a gateway to the surrounding areas with several large business parks located within the City’s boundaries.  The connectivity of the City is continuously being developed with Galway Airport just six kilometres east of the City.  The National Roads Authority is advancing a number of proposals to accelerate improvements in national road access on the N6 and N18 while CIE is progressing a major public transport hub incorporating new rail and bus stations at the existing Ceannt Station site in the City Centre.

“Galway is well served by its two higher education institutions located in the city; the National University of Ireland, Galway and the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology enabling over 20,000 students in the west of Ireland to access a range of high-quality courses on their doorsteps, whilst also addressing the immediate needs of employers in the region.

Galway’s calendar of festivals and diverse range of activities offers an outstanding quality of life. 2009 will see the Volvo Ocean Race stopover in Galway, an event that will not only benefit the local economy and tourism but will drive the development of Galway’s Port and docklands.
Locating your business and family in the West offers an unmatchable lifestyle,“ he concluded.

Ian Brannigan, Development Manager at the WDC says that one of the real drivers for this year’s LookWest.ie 2008 campaign has been the increasing evidence that people are more than ever valuing quality of life as a determinant for where they live and work.  “Our research shows that the Western region has this in spades; 67% of businesses surveyed stated that the Western Region had a better work life balance.”

He added, “This week the focus is on Donegal and we will showcase a different area each week for the duration of the campaign.  The types of highly skilled sustainable businesses showcased typify the innate dynamism of the West and demonstrate how the region is adapting to global demands.”

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