US corporate tax is 'disincentive'

The high corporate tax rate in the US is a disincentive for large US corporations to manufacture there, Dr Craig Barrett, the former chairman and chief executive of Intel told a gathering of Irish technology executives in California last night.

"Executives have a duty to do their best for their shareholders and if they generate cash overseas they will invest it overseas rather than pay the penalty of repatriating it," said Dr Barrett.

Dr Barrett, who oversaw much of Intel's $7 billion investment in its Irish manufacturing facility, now acts as chairman of the Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG) which held its annual awards dinner in Silicon Valley last night.

Urging the Irish and US governments to embrace innovation as the way to revitalize their economies, Dr Barrett said it was an issue that needed to be debated at a national level.

"Innovation is the future – not getting $75 to screw lug nuts on a set of wheels," said Dr Barrett.

SkillPages the social network which enables people to find people with skills they need or sell their own services, won the ITLG/Irish Times technology company of the year award at an event in Stanford University last night.

Intelesens, a Belfast-based developer of wearable monitors for use in the healthcare sector, won the most promising technology award.

Mr Mc Donald said SkillPages now had 570,000 users, having added half a million since the site ended its test period in mid-January.

"We are ahead of our plan to get one million users by December and we are now estimating we'll have a multiple of that," said Mr MacDonald. "Our ambition is to grow a significant business out of Ireland that will not be out of place alongside global players like Google, Facebook and LinkedIn."

SkillPages, was founded in 2008 by Iain MacDonald, who previously headed up telecoms company Perlico, and Michael Gallagher, an experienced telecoms and financial services executive.

Last year SkillPages raised $4 million for international expansion with funding coming from Mr MacDonald, Michael Smurfit, the former head of the Smurfit packaging group and Dr Jim Mountjoy, the veteran technology investor.

Mr MacDonald said SkillPages, which recently changed its name from Weedle, has had particular success in Singapore, California, Massachusetts and Britain.

The company employs 22 but Mr MacDonald said one of its biggest challenges is hiring staff. "It's the biggest barrier to our growth," he said.

Intellisens has developed wireless monitors which record a person's vital signs, either at home or in hospital, and alert doctors if there are unexpected changes.

Chief executive Michael Caulfield said the firm was probably a month away from getting regulatory approval in the US.

"The profile of this award means that the companies who are helping us get into the US will see it as a corroboration of their faith in us," said Mr Caulfield.