Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I dealt with that question in a speech I delivered recently and will provide the Senator with a copy. To the best of my memory, there have been 1,028 high-potential start-ups since 2000. The target for this year is 95 and we have reached 50 so far. We expect to reach the target by year end. It has been quite successful in that respect.

The Minister referred to something which I said many times when I was Chairman of this committee, namely that there must always be an acceptable failure rate. Over the years I always felt that the returns of the enterprise boards were too high. I have said to all of the agencies I have met since taking up my role in the Department that it is okay to allow for a certain level of failure and to expect it, to some degree. That said, there is still considerable potential in the high-potential start-ups. The key is quality rather than quantity. I met with representatives of Enterprise Ireland last week and they are very focused on quality. They make every effort to pick the right companies to support. They are determined to support the ones with real potential. An estimated 20,000 jobs have been created in the area, which is a considerable achievement, even if not all of them are direct jobs. It is an area which is doing well although I do accept the points made by the Senator.

The capital spend for Science Foundation Ireland will be fully drawn down this year. I only wish we had more to spend.