Ireland lags behind its main competitors when it comes to prioritising and stimulating the creative economy, National College of Art and Design head of design Prof Alex Milton has said.

Speaking at the Cumulus Dublin design conference yesterday, Prof Milton said countries like the UK and the Netherlands were far ahead of the Republic in terms of prioritising creative industries.

“The reason they’re thriving is because the government there is proactively supporting these industries through financial incentives, promotion at home and abroad, and reducing unnecessary regulations. In Ireland, we need to do likewise. In the UK, the creative industries are worth more than £36 billion a year . . . and employ 1.5 million people.”

He said many people in Ireland thought of design purely in terms of aesthetics, an outdated and misinformed view.