Last week Councillor Jennifer Whitmore and I hosted Pat Burt, the ex-Mayor of Palo Alto in Silicon Valley, in Greystones. Burt, the CEO of the Palo Alto Tech Group, an angel investor and an advisor to start-up companies, was in the town to see first-hand what Greystones has to offer for innovation companies and to advise on how to make the town a centre of innovation. Also present were the Innovation Campus team and CEOs of Irish and American companies.

I was delighted to discuss fostering greater ties between Greystones and Silicon Valley with Pat. He was very impressed with what Greystones and Wicklow have to offer and is keen to work with us to further develop this areas potential as an area for innovation.Over the past two years, we have met with chief executives of high-tech SMEs, the IDA, international property consultants and others in an effort to create high quality jobs for Greystones and the surrounding area. Our aim is to target tech-based companies that have grown past the initial start-up phase and are looking to expand. We’re being told that this type of technology company doesn’t currently have a home in Ireland. Pat Burt has huge links to these companies in the US and is helping us reach out to them.