AN ADVISORY board comprising prominent businessmen, academics and public servants has been appointed to advance plans to develop the country’s first science innovation and technology park, in Cork.
Backers of the plan have spoken of the possibility of up to 6,000 high-end jobs being created by a Silicon Valley-style innovation and research campus, to be built in Curraheen on a 150-acre site on the outskirts of Cork city.
The board is to be chaired by businessman Leslie Buckley. The promoters include Cork County Council, University College Cork and Cork Institute of Technology.
Mr Buckley is a founding director of Digicel and was previously involved in the start-up of Esat Digifone and was chief operating officer of Esat Telecom.
He is chairman of the Saon group and is a shareholder and director of a number of Irish companies, including Aer Lingus and Independent News and Media.
He described the project as hugely significant for Cork but also a pivotal development for the country as a whole.
“Global research has shown that such parks become significant drivers of economic growth. If we are serious about creating a knowledge-based economy, then the location of overseas and Irish-owned companies at the park will assist in the sharing of knowledge and innovation and create the environment for the commercialisation of research,” he said.
The Cork site is unique in Ireland because of its proximity to the buildings and landholdings of two third-level institutions that have a significant track record in research and innovation.