Strategy to create up to 30,000 new 'green' jobs

Strategy to create up to 30,000 new 'green' jobs(By Laura Slattery, via Irish Times)Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan with

Tim Fritzley, chief executive of Intune Networks, and the world's first

programmable fibre-optic technology, which will be part of a new

communications network.Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural

Resources Eamon Ryan with Tim Fritzley, chief executive of Intune Networks,

and the world's first programmable fibre-optic technology, which will be

part of a new communications network.A major new strategy to create up to 30,000 “green collar” jobs by pushing

Ireland to the forefront of the “digital technology revolution” was

unveiled by the Government yesterday.The first part of the plan will see telecoms equipment company Intune

Networks build a new “smart network” across Ireland, with the creation of

350 high-end jobs over the next three years.Called Exemplar, the fibre-optic-based network is designed to cope with the

huge increase in internet traffic in future decades.Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan said

the Government’s aim was to promote Ireland as a “test bed location where

you can deliver the latest green technologies”, adding that its target of

30,000 jobs was “absolutely achievable and credible”.Mr Ryan outlined six target areas that he said the Government would

concentrate on developing in the next decade as part of its bid to

rejuvenate the economy.As well as the Exemplar network, Mr Ryan said the Government would

prioritise the development of energy-efficient cloud computing data

centres; an International Content Services Centre (ICSC) to act as a broker

between content developers and distributors; the “smart” electricity

network recently announced by ESB; the WorkFlow project that uses

web-enabled traffic sensors to allow commuters to choose optimum travel

times; and Smart Bay, a project by IBM Ireland and Intel that will

facilitate marine research on a nationwide basis, beginning with its pilot

in Galway.Many of the target areas will utilise the concept of the “internet of

things”, through which everyday devices are fitted with web- enabled

sensors.Work has begun on all of the six “technology actions” highlighted

yesterday. Mr Ryan said funding for the projects would come from a range of

sources, including the Government’s €500 million Innovation Fund, industry

funding and contributions from the exchequer.The Minister said there was a need to stimulate the economy in order for it

to recover.The Government estimates that the building of the Intune network – which Mr

Ryan said would allow businesses to “sell to China from Tubbercurry at

lightning speed” – will eventually create 5,000 direct jobs and a further

5,000 indirectly. Positioning Ireland as an attractive location for cloud

computing, a low-energy method of storing data remotely, could create a

further 10,000 jobs.It said the establishment of an ICSC has the potential to support more than

1,000 digital content companies currently located in Ireland, generating

another 10,000 jobs. Legislation on intellectual property rights, including

new taxation measures, is likely to be introduced to facilitate the centre,

which will be modelled along the lines of the International Financial

Services Centre in Dublin.The Association for Alternative Operators in the Communications Market said

it welcomed the Government’s recognition of the need to prepare for growing

internet traffic, but said the Exemplar network was “not a panacea for the

problems of the exchange-to-home part of the network” controlled by Eircom.Intune NetworksFounded in 1999, Intune Networks has been quietly building its reputation,

developing technology and gathering global patents in its bid to make the

fibre-optic communications infrastructure more efficient.It was established by UCD graduates John Dunne and Tom Farrell and has

since received €25 million in