Pictured (l-r, front to back) are: Leanne Turner, Executive Director, Royal Dental Hospital Melbourne; Joe Aherne, CEO, Leading Edge Group; Richard Bruton TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation; Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland

Contracts worth almost €10million and 26 jobs were among the initial, immediate results for Irish companies from the five day trade and investment mission to Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra led by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD.

Three Irish companies announced new office openings (two in Sydney and one in Auckland, New Zealand) and numerous leads for potential multinational investments in Ireland, and for potential sales for Irish exporting companies, were created.

32 Irish companies travelled on the mission and participated in over 160 one-to-one meetings with Australian companies targeting export and investment opportunities across the financial services, travel, telecommunications and IT for Healthcare sectors. While in Sydney the opportunity was taken to bring in a number of key buyers from New Zealand to meet with Irish companies participating on the mission.

“There is a growing awareness of Ireland’s innovation and capabilities that was evident in every meeting I attended - people in Government, multinational companies, business and the media are more aware of Ireland, more aware of the strengths we bring to the table, and very willing to do business with us”, said Minister Bruton.

Among the deals announced by Irish companies during the mission were:

• Kildare-based HealthComms announced a new expanded contract in association with leading Melbourne care provider “Catholic Homes” for its “MyHomeReach” technology which focuses on supporting independent living, promotes social inclusion and enables the ongoing monitoring of wellness while increasing service quality to its users.
• Slainte Healthcare announced that it is working with Calvary Health Care Hospital Group to create a paperless hospital environment by replacing paper patient charts with electronic software.
• Leading Edge Group, Cork, announced the signing of a major Lean initiative with The Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne. The contract will involve the delivery of a full suite of Lean training programs to a cross-section of the Melbourne hospital staff in association with the Australian Healthcare & Hospitals Association (AHHA).
• Lincor Solutions formally signed an exclusive agreement with Australia’s leading provider of interactive patient care for the hospital and aged care sectors – Hills Health Solutions
• Idiro, a leading provider of advanced data analytics based in Dublin, announced a deal with 2degrees, a leading New Zealand mobile operator, to provide data analytics for marketing.
• Fenergo, the leading provider of Regulatory Onboarding, Entity Data and Client Lifecycle Management solutions for investment banks and capital market firms, announced its expansion into Asia Pacific with the creation of a local team based out of Sydney.
• Westbourne IT Global Services (Cork) announced that it will open a new office in Auckland, New Zealand later this month, allowing the company to provide a 24/7 “follow the sun” solution for its customers. The New Zealand office will both enhance and increase existing jobs in Cork as Westbourne IT’s Cork headquarters will provide back office support for the expanding group.
• Solgari, the leading cloud telecommunication software services provider, announced the opening of their new Sales and Support Office in Sydney to support their growing customer base across the wider Asia Pacific region.

In addition, Oneview Healthcare, one of the leading global providers of patient engagement solutions for healthcare facilities, announced it has reached agreement in principle to deploy its state-of-the-art software solution in two high profile hospitals – one in Victoria and one in Queensland with a combined value of approximately A$5 million.

To find out more visit Enterprise Ireland website. 

Read an interview with Paul Burfield, director of Australia and New Zealand region at Enterprise Ireland.