Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We have put in place a technology transfer strengthening initiative, TTSI programme, which is funded through Enterprise Ireland, and there are technology transfer offices within the individual organisations. The national intellectual property protocol deals with how industry engages with academia in terms of collaborations and how it mines that intellectual property. There should not, therefore, be any ambiguity for anybody who wants to talk to an institute of technology or university in regard to mining those types of opportunities.

There are clear protocols in that regard.

The major challenge, which Deputy Lawlor touched on, relates to how we encourage those in the SME sector, particularly those who own small and, quite possibly, intergenerational businesses, to engage with the institutes of technology in the context of innovation partnerships or innovation vouchers. There may be a job of work to be done in the context of improving the profile of innovation vouchers among small businesses, particularly in the context of their value. The LEOs may be the means by which that could be done. I do not wish to be parochial but I am aware of the intimate workings of the system in Cork and I know there is quite an advanced, if informal, network in place which allows businesses to interact with Cork Institute of Technology, CIT. However, I am not sure whether this is replicated throughout the country and there may be a need for work to also be done in this regard.

The net point is that larger corporations will have relationships through the Science Foundation Ireland, SFI, research centres and the technology gateway centres. The relationship in this regard is quite formalised and deep. We want to encourage the participation of more businesses which would not have interacted on this level. Such businesses could, for example, be operating in the light engineering sector and could be intergenerational in nature. Those involved with firms of this nature may be extremely intelligent people who may not have gone through the formal system of third level education, but they are still running great businesses and they possess major skill sets. These individuals may not be thinking about growing their operations in a particular way or about moving in a direction which will facilitate new innovations. There is an opportunity for Ireland to improve its position in the context of this sector.

We must ensure there is a greater knowledge among people with regard to the potential of innovation vouchers. There are those who may argue about whether the level of take-up in respect of the innovation partnerships has been sufficiently high. The position with regard to take-up may relate to people aiming for the top end, maximum amount of €250,000 rather than for the minimum amount of €50,000. The latter amount could, of course, have as much of an impact as the former in the context of the industry or SME academic partnerships which are driven by Enterprise Ireland.