Engineers Ireland president stresses importance of Irish device sector

Dr John O’Dea, president of Engineers Ireland, has called on government and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) to prioritise investment in the area of regenerative medicine manufacturing technology for the next generation of job creation.

Ireland is one of five recognised centres of medtech excellence globally, an industry which is entering a new era of regenerative medicine. Following the recent Irish Medicines Board approval of the cell manufacturing facility at NUI Galway, Ireland also boasts one of only six regenerative medicine institutes in Europe, which is approved to manufacture stem cell therapies for human use. This resource provides the foundation for strong engineering and manufacturing employment opportunities in this emerging area.

Speaking about the future of the biomedical industry in Ireland, O’Dea, said that we need to skill up now to embrace the opportunities, and leverage the worldwide recognition we enjoy for high-quality medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturing, “The medical device industry is vital to Ireland’s economic growth and future. It is a heavily manufacturing-focused industry which currently employs in the region of 25,000 people and is close to export levels of €8 billion.”

“However we cannot become complacent as employment in the industry has remained stable over the past few years. A recent study by Johnson and Johnson suggests that the regenerative medicine market will exceed $10 billion by 2020, and Ireland has an opportunity to lead the progress in this field. Therefore we must ensure strategic focus is awarded to ensuring the right skills and facilities exist in order to be at the forefront of this game-changing advancement in medicine and medical technology.”