As 2010 really gets going, there is a renewed sense of optimism for business and economic organisations in Cork. This positive attitude has been reflected in reports coming from authorities like the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), which indicated an end to the recession, possibly towards the end of 2010. Speaking in advance of the biggest event in the Cork business calendar, the Cork Chamber Annual Dinner, Chief Executive of the Chamber, Conor Healy outlined his plans for 2010

"Cork has faced and dealt with many challenges and there has been a lot of work done in the region to strengthen the economic base," says Healy. "Cork has been very successful in terms of investment and in recent years has made improvements in attracting tourism activity and in the retail sector. But for Cork to make the next step forward in terms of its positioning and wider economic development I think it needs to take the greater control of the marketing and brand development."

According to Healy, all the constituents are in place that would allow this to happen, the only thing missing is a coordinated approach between the various stakeholders. The Cork Marketing Partnership has been in existence since January 2007 and is made up of both Cork Local Authorities, the Cork Chamber, the Cork Business Association (CBA) the Port of Cork, Cork Airport and Failte Ireland.

When the partnership was established it was charged with developing a convention bureau, supporting projects and initiatives within the city such as the Better Buildings awards and the Cork City Cares initiative and the third area focused on economic marketing.

"This is about supporting and adding to the work of the state agencies. In times of tightened national resources, the state agencies and other organisations like that have their own challenges in terms of meeting their own criteria," says Healy. "I think there is an onus on us to support to them and we can't wait for everything to be delivered to us. The time is gone where we can sit back and wait for them to deliver investment into Cork. We have to take the lead."

Cork is well placed to take this step with its wealth of facilities and only lacks a couple of key elements. "When you look at comparable second cities across the UK and Europe, we have a lot of the same attributes. We also have a reasonably significant population base heading for half a million in the entire region.