Comment: The current debate about decentralisation has brought the issue of location to the top of the agenda, writes Frank Fitzmaurice.

This is not just an issue for the civil service: decentralisation also has direct relevance for Irish manufacturers and office-based businesses.

At the heart of this issue is the simple question: where is the right location for my business? International trends towards "off-shoring" and "near-shoring" are symptoms of this issue, but it is also just as relevant to businesses located in Dublin and other urban areas.

Two of the key drivers behind the location issue are costs for a given location and employee productivity and satisfaction.

That's why the research that Meath County Council published this week on commuters in Co Meath should be of particular interest to any business owner in a built-up urban area.

The salient finding is that a large number of commuters who live in Meath but work in Dublin would be really interested in taking up employment closer to their homes, even to the point of considering a career change and a drop in income.

The significance of this finding is that any business (manufacturing or office-based) which is looking for an optimal location can reasonably conclude that there is a very large labour pool available to it in Co Meath.

The quality of this labour pool in terms of skills and experience is the same as the general labour pool available in the Dublin area, but with the added difference that a large number of them say they are very keen to work in Meath.

The reason for this is obvious: it's got to do with the well-documented problems of commuting.

One by-product that commuting has produced over the last few years is the growing level of employee dissatisfaction over location of workplace relative to the home. For the many such commuters, a decision to change jobs may become more feasible as a solution than a decision to change where they live.

How many of your key employees complain about their daily commute? How many of these key staff would welcome a change to a new location, which could be reached in a non-stop journey as opposed to travelling in slow heavy commuter traffic (the so-called "reverse commute")?

If these are questions you and your key staff regularly discuss, it could be worth your while having a look at the report Meath County Council has just completed. Entitled Hidden Resources: Survey of Meath Commuters, it can be accessed at http://invest.meath.ie.

What you will learn from it is that many commuters are very conscious of the personal and economic costs they and their families are bearing because of the lengthy commutes, and that many of them are looking for a way to change their circumstances.

I referred above to two drivers. When it comes to the question of costs as a reason to change location, there can be a remarkable difference in cost experience between a location in an urban area and one which is a few miles beyond the M50.

There are plenty of examples of companies who have already discovered the cost advantages of moving out of Dublin to locations in Meath such as Ashbourne, Navan, Kells and more rural areas such as Summerhill and Athboy.

The cost advantages enjoyed by Meath relative to Dublin are a mixture of obvious areas of cost savings and some more intangible but no less valuable areas of efficiencies. Examples of the more obvious areas include:

n Lower space costs (rental of office buildings or factory units);

n Industrial land for development of greenfield business facilities costs less the further away from Dublin;

n Business rates which in 2003 are up to 26 per cent lower in Meath than in parts of the metropolitan area;

n Operational costs such as security can be lower;

n Housing costs can be significantly lower.

Some of the less obvious areas of savings can derive from the very act of moving to a new location. This can allow for new work practices and even improved physical layouts which can lead to logistical efficiency and productivity gains.

Add to this the greater flexibility that can exist when people are not faced with lengthy commuter journeys or under strict time deadlines to collect children from creches etc.

Catalysts which will further enhance Meath's attractiveness relative to the urban areas are already firmly at work.

These include the commencement of new motorway construction projects, the provision of valuable services infrastructure and the advancing roll-out of broadband in the county.

Jonathan Swift defined vision as " the art of seeing things invisible".

The case for business and industry to take a closer look at the merits of decentralisation consists of some very visible and valuable attractions. Implementing that vision has been successfully proven in Meath and opportunities to continue to do so still abound. One thing is certain: Meath will welcome your interest.

Frank Fitzmaurice is economic development officer with Meath County Council. The views expressed here are personal.