Mr. Frank Ryan:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to attend this morning. I am joined today by colleagues from Enterprise Ireland who are present to assist the work of the committee. In presenting the annual report and accounts for 2011, I will briefly outline the key results achieved.

Enterprise Ireland's mission is to partner with entrepreneurs, Irish businesses, and the research and investment communities to develop Ireland's international trade, innovation, leadership, and competitiveness. The ultimate objective is increased employment and prosperity in Ireland. The companies we work with are a vital source of employment in every county in Ireland.

To help our clients achieve growth, Enterprise Ireland uses a holistic developmental approach and engages client companies across all aspects of the value chain. I would like to take this opportunity to recognise the contribution of the staff of Enterprise Ireland, both at home and overseas, in delivering on the objectives of the agency.

While it is understood that the focus of the committee's session is on the Enterprise Ireland annual report and accounts for 2011, it is appreciated that members will also be keenly interested in developments during 2012. To this end, summary updates have been provided throughout the briefing document provided to committee members in advance of today's meeting.

Despite operating in a very challenging domestic market and in highly competitive international markets, our client companies put in an exceptionally resilient performance in 2011 following three consecutive years of decline. At the end of that year, total employment by Enterprise Ireland clients stood at 162,692, made up of 141,228 in full-time employment and 21,464 in part-time positions. In 2012, total employment in our client companies increased to 169,451, with 145,460 full-time jobs and 23,991 part-time positions. During 2012, the Action Plan for Jobs was launched, containing over 270 individual actions to be delivered. Enterprise Ireland had responsibility for more than 100 of these actions and we delivered the bulk of the actions assigned to us in the action plan in full and on time.

In Enterprise Ireland we understand that in a small economy, exports sustain and create jobs. The stabilisation of employment in our client companies in 2011 was supported by buoyant international sales. With total exports reaching €15.2 billion, our clients exported more in 2011 than at any time in the history of the State. The support and promotion of in-company research and development and innovation, as well as collaborative innovation with others, is central to our clients' continued success. Innovation is at the heart of all entrepreneurship, be it in a high-growth-potential start-up company turning knowledge into solutions or in established companies that are constantly improving their products and processes and thus their ability to compete and win sales overseas.

Enterprise Ireland's annual accounts for 2011 were signed off by the Comptroller and Auditor General on 7 June 2012. As our annual report demonstrates, we support companies both directly, through the provision of financial supports and non-financial support through our client support network, and indirectly, by helping to build a wider enterprise infrastructure through our work with the seed and venture capital community and the banks as well as our work with the research community. The total budget available to Enterprise Ireland in 2011 was €336 million. This can be broken down as set out in table 1 of the briefing statement previously provided.

Enterprise Ireland client companies, located in every county, continue to make a substantial economic impact at a critical time in the State. At Enterprise Ireland we are keenly focused on our ongoing mission to support companies and support employment creation. We aim to move forward into 2013 with the objective of playing a central role in the implementation of the 2013 action plan, which will be published shortly. Notwithstanding progress made during 2011 and 2012, Enterprise Ireland-supported companies will have to increase their scale significantly in the future if they are to continue to win out against global competition. In this regard, access to finance to fund export growth will be a key determinant of success, as will the composition of the senior management teams and the leadership and ambition of the boards of emerging Irish companies.