Ireland’s largest technology hub gets green light

AS MANY as 1,000 new jobs will be created after planning permission was granted to transform the former ferry passenger terminal on St Michael’s Pier into a new Harbour Innovation Campus.

Private investor Philip Gannon has been given the green light by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to lease the iconic building and invest more than €20m to convert it into a unique enterprise space.

At more than 7,000sqm, the Harbour Innovation Campus will be the largest technology hub in Ireland and one of the top five in Europe.

While the outside of the building will remain unchanged, the inside will see leading global companies collaborating with start-ups, SMEs, academic institutions and State enterprise agencies to develop and apply advances in technology.

The result will be what is termed a ‘one-stop shop’ for companies that want to rapidly apply advances in technologies including artificial intelligence, augmented reality, cyber security and data analytics to sectors such as agriculture, finance and manufacturing.

The ferry terminal has lain empty since sailings were discontinued in 2015 and the development has been welcomed by business and political leaders.

Backers say the granting of planning permission means there is now a once in a lifetime opportunity to attract the world’s best-known technology companies to Dún Laoghaire and enhance the town’s growing reputation

The Harbour Innovation Campus is 100 per cent funded by private investment.

It will also deliver revenue of almost €15m in rent and rates over the next 10 years, while the employment created will result in an estimated additional spend of around €6m each year on local businesses in the town.

Designers say the Harbour Innovation Campus will benefit from a coastal location and excellent transport links. The building will provide a platform dedicated to innovation for a carefully curated ecosystem and will include accelerator programs, meet up space, training rooms, a café, meetings rooms and ‘maker’ space.

The internal fit out of the building is expected to start next month, and it will be ready to open in Spring 2019. There are also plans to open smaller regional Harbour Digital Innovation Hubs across Ireland over the next three years.

These hubs will be strategically located to provide a local business with the skills, knowledge, training and resources required to apply disruptive technology to specific projects.

Philip Gannon, the founder, CEO and private investor behind the project, said: “We have received overwhelming support from local residents and businesses who all understand the huge benefits that this project will bring to the area.

“This culturally significant building has been lying empty for over four years and is quickly falling into a state of dereliction and decay. A place where people used to go to emigrate will now become world-class innovation space that will showcase Ireland’s capabilities in technology, create employment and bring social and economic prosperity not only to Dún Laoghaire and the surrounding areas, but the country as a whole.”

The Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen, said: “I am pleased with the news from the Harbour Innovation Campus on the creation of a new Digital Innovation Hub. The type of co-operation between large multinationals, SMEs and academics that occurs in these hubs can generate exciting opportunities.

“I am also excited about the prospects that the Harbour Innovation Campus offers for the local economy in Dún Laoghaire and the potential for national growth that a project of this size represents and the ambitions of the Harbour Innovation Campus to establish satellite hubs around the country.

“This will provide important opportunities for our regions to benefit from growth in the digital arena.”

Leo Clancy, Head of Technology, Consumer and Business Services at IDA Ireland, added: “I am delighted to welcome this significant investment in Dún Laoghaire, which represents another great vote of confidence for Ireland’s technology sector and our ability to supply highly-skilled workers.

“Ireland has become the global technology hub of choice when it comes to attracting the strategic business activities of digitally focused companies.

“This new hub will greatly assist IDA Ireland in attracting future high value investments.”

Niall McEvo of Enterprise Ireland, said they welcomed the potential that the Harbour Innovation Campus will bring to the area.

“As the State Agency responsible for supporting the development and growth of Irish companies globally, Enterprise Ireland believes it will be a great addition to Dún Laoighaire Rathdown and will attract sustainable economic growth for the area and the companies that locate there,” he said.

Owen Laverty, Head of Enterprise and Economics DLR, said: “The development of the old ferry terminal into a leading innovation campus supporting collaboration and innovation is important for DLR. The HIC strongly aligns with our aims of growing DLR's reputation as a premier destination for technology companies to innovate and grow, I look forward to working with the HIC team in realising this goal.”