The Government must acknowledge the potential of Cork as Ireland’s second city with investment to substantially strengthen our metropolitan profile, Cork Chamber President Bill O'Connell has said.

Mr O'Connell was speaking at Cork Chamber's annual dinner in City Hall last night. He has called for a commitment from Government to invest in Cork’s public transport needs including a rapid transit system and a high-speed rail connecting Cork and Dublin while emphasising that the Limerick to Cork motorway and events centre must be built.

“A second city of scale, a true compliment to Dublin, with critical mass of talent, innovation, infrastructure, diversity and culture will ensure the continued success of the Irish economy," he said.

“Cork will be the fastest growing region in the country for the next two decades. We are ready for this challenge. Government must be ready to allocate investment accordingly and acknowledge the potential of Ireland’s second city to substantially strengthen Ireland’s metropolitan profile.”

At the dinner, Boston Scientific was named ‘Cork Company of the Year’ as it celebrates 21 years in Cork next month.

Accepting the award on behalf of Boston Scientific, Sean Gayer, VP Operations, said the award was down to the 890 staff in Cork.

“This is a fantastic recognition for the entire Boston Scientific team at Model Farm Road. It is an honour to be considered in the same light as previous finalists, who have inspired business excellence in our community,” said Mr Gayer.

The awards, run in association with Vodafone Ireland, involve a thorough four-month judging process with an experienced mix of business professionals from across the business community.

The Cork Emerging Company of the Year 2018 was awarded to EviView, providers of analytic software for pharmaceutical manufacturers, while Cork SME Company of the Year 2018 was won by Spearline, providing the world’s only automated monitoring platform which allows enterprise clients to benchmark, monitor and troubleshoot their global telecoms footprint.

Cork Large Company of the Year 2018 went to Teamwork.com, who are leading the way for SaaS in Ireland, providing a suite of operations to help run the businesses of their 20,000 customers across 183 international companies.

Bill O’Connell, President Cork Chamber, noted the high standard of entrants and how becoming a finalist in these awards is an achievement in itself given the rigour of the judging process.

“Cork Company of the Year Awards provide a wonderful platform for businesses in Cork to reflect on their success and the deserving winners will now join the 20- year network of previous respected winners,” he added.