Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

What is the current value of equity holdings by Enterprise Ireland companies? Why did Enterprise Ireland technology centres not match those in priority research? With regard to support through Science Foundation Ireland, the target was to consolidate 28 research centres and five new large-scale awards. Where were the large-scale awards made? With regard to Science Foundation Ireland leveraging the €100 million from funded researchers, how was it invested and who owns the outcome of their work? With regard to intellectual property, does the Minister agree rates or levels of patents submitted and the value of these patents are a suitable metric for reaching objectives? The figures on page 19 show gross expenditure on research and development as a percentage of GNP. I understood that in Horizon 2020 the metric was to show gross expenditure on research and development as a percentage of GDP which would change the measure significantly. The ears of the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, pricked up when I mentioned tax incentives for research and development. If he does not have the figures to hand, perhaps he will furnish the committee with an overall estimate of the level of tax breaks given to foreign direct investment and Enterprise Ireland businesses. How many Enterprise Ireland clients are in the State?