A second annual review of Geoscience Ireland (GI) for 2014 shows continued strong job creation by GI members. The review was completed by Neary Marketing Surveys on behalf of the Geological Survey of Ireland/Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. GI is a business cluster of 21 companies supported by the Geological Survey of Ireland and Enterprise Ireland. Launched in September 2012, GI member companies provide integrated services to international markets in geology, hydrogeology, environmental and geotechnical engineering, water services and capacity building. Speaking about the results of the Review, Minister with responsibility for Natural Resources, Fergus O’Dowd said the figures were very encouraging. “They’re a testament to the resilience and determination of these Irish geoscience companies that they’ve continued to expand as we recover economically,” he said. “The effective collaboration of state bodies in GSI and EI to create and develop this Geoscience Ireland business cluster is a great example of how government can assist industry in an effective way.” The key findings of the Review are:

• Since September 2012, GI companies have created a total of 145 new jobs of which 61 were created since July 2013;
• One third of members reported that GI’s contribution to members in winning international business was significant, while 60% reported that GI was assisting them in key areas of geoscience;
• Ratings of GI Support Services were considered useful/important by circa 66% of members;
• Ratings of Enterprise Ireland Support Services s were considered important by 80% of members.

A recent GI workshop resulted in the following key recommendations:

• Development of a marketing plan for July 2014-June 2015. The focus of the plan will reflect the priorities of the member companies as to sectors and geographical areas to target for the next 12 months;
• Opportunity updates: the review proposes a new type of structure, appointing lead companies to focus on tendering opportunities in particular sectors;
• Build on continued support by GSI, Enterprise Ireland, the Department of Communications Energy & Natural Resources and the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade.

The Minster went on to say, “If this were a single factory with 60 or a 100+ jobs, it would lend itself to a fairly significant announcement. However, it’s no less important for the fact that it reflects sustained incremental growth across a range of companies.” GI member companies have undertaken projects in over 50 countries for international finance and aid agencies, private and semi-state companies. GI members employ over 1,200 persons and turnover €160 million of which around 40% is generated from work overseas. The companies and organisations partnering together as Geoscience Ireland can be found here.