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Contact: Debbie Morton, dmorton@mercyhurst.edu; +1-814-824-2552 (U.S.)
After July 9: +1-814-450-9949
Irish officials say intelligence conference key to attracting niche security industry
DUNGARVAN, IE - As more and more nations continue to enhance the security measures designed to protect their citizens, Ireland is making an effort to capitalize on the revenue-generating opportunities in the civil / homeland security market.
“The security industry is the fourth largest in the world and, until now, it has escaped the Irish government as an opportunity for growth,” said Fine Gael Waterford TD John Deasy. But that may all change next week when leading practitioners from 15 countries descend on Dungarvan for the first Global Intelligence Forum: The Dungarvan Conference. The July 11-13 summit, organized by the Mercyhurst College Institute for Intelligence Studies, is intended as a platform to share intelligence dos and don’ts from an international perspective. Mercyhurst College is situated in Erie, Pa., USA, which shares a Sister City relationship with Dungarvan.
“When it comes to attracting intelligence to Ireland as a niche industry, I think this conference will generate interest,” Deasy said, pointing to the fact that both Dermot Ahern, Ireland’s Minister of Justice and Law Reform; and Fachtna Murphy, commissioner of An Garda Siochana, Ireland’s National Police Service; are participants in the conference. They’ll be joined by 150 other strategists, including keynote speaker, the Honorable Tom Ridge, the first U.S. Secretary for Homeland Security and president and CEO of Ridge Global, Washington D.C.
“I think those individuals have identified the value of this conference and that there is a growing awareness in government circles of what Mercyhurst is bringing to the table,” Deasy said. “Mercyhurst is bringing its clients from around the world and that is providing Ireland the opportunity to communicate one-on-one with global players in this key industry.”
Deasy’s sentiments were echoed by Dr. Michael Murphy, Security Contact Point at Enterprise Island, the government agency responsible for the development and promotion of the indigenous business sector. He said he expects Ireland’s ongoing partnership with Mercyhurst College to create better access to markets in the global civil security arena, whose worth is estimated at €103B.
“The counterterrorism intelligence side of that is €19.4B, but as the ability to fuse information grows more important in the business environment, I would anticipate substantial spill-over benefits into non-security sectors of the economy,” Murphy said. “I think our relationship with Mercyhurst could provide access to U.S. markets, enhance industry development at home, and is clearly the opportunity for Ireland to become invested in this global market.”
