Peter Finnegan, acting assistant city manager and director, Office of Economy and International Relations, Dublin City Council
Cities and urban environments are the driving forces of economies across the world, and thus Dublin must be Ireland’s engine for innovation, according to Peter Finnegan, acting assistant city manager and director, Office of Economy and International Relations, Dublin City Council.
In a country the size of Ireland, the population is focused in the greater Dublin area and surrounding counties, says Finnegan. ”It’s not that innovation doesn’t take place outside this area, it is just that much of innovation breeds and grows in urban settings. So Dublin is by definition the engine for innovation in Ireland.”
Finnegan believes that innovation is the creative gene within all of us, but it happens when we take that creative idea and make it real. “It is when we translate that idea into a practical solution to a problem or opportunity that is out there in society today.”
Hear Peter Finnegan’s thoughts on innovation and Dublin in the video interview here:
Peter Finnegan will be a panelist at the Innovation Ireland Forum in Dublin on 11 October
