EU Commission proud of Ireland's economic progress, conference told

IRELAND is becoming the India of Europe for computer software, the EU Commissioner for Industry, Dr Martin Bangemann, said yesterday.

India is now a powerhouse in the field, being one of the most competitive countries in the world for software. Ireland was now making similar strides, making use of "all the opportunities and possibilities" in information technology to improve its economic status, a conference in Dublin was told.

"You don't have to be big physically to be a big player," Dr Bangemann said, adding that the Commission was "proud" of the way the Republic had moved away from an inefficient industrial infrastructure to make use of creative initiatives to improve its economic situation. In this way, Ireland as a small country could show "the spirit of the new Europe", he said.

Dr Bangemann was speaking at the opening of a major G7 conference on marine research and the application of information technology. The MARIS (Marine Information Society) conference is hosted by the Department of the Marine and the Marine Institute, whose chief executive, Dr Peter Heffernan, said the conference put Ireland in its rightful place as a "high technology maritime nation".

Dr Heffernan said 97 per cent of Irish people were totally unaware of Ireland's 222 million acre continental shelf. There were "endless opportunities" for employment in the application of state of the art computer technology to fishing, shipping, marine tourism and the marine environment, and Ireland could lead the way, he said.

Ms Yvonne Shields of the Marine Institute said there were great opportunities in information technology for marine tourism.

The Minister for the Marine, Mr Barrett, said there was massive potential, and "as the biggest exporter of computer software in Europe and with the largest seabed area in Europe, Ireland is particularly well placed to explore the potential of information technology for the development of the marine resource".

Delegates from Japan, the US and Canada were among participants at the conference, which is part of an initiative by the G-7 partners to apply technology to create a global system of information for all areas of the marine.

A number of projects are under way. One will create databases to monitor and effectively manage fish stocks. Another aims to produce a global "traffic system", which would track all vessels worldwide and their cargoes. A

third seeks to monitor pollution and improve safety at sea.