Mr. Kevin Sherry:

I will start with the question on agencies' remits for research and development. Like IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland has direct responsibility for supporting company level research and development within companies. It also has responsibility for applied research and Horizon 2020. SFI has responsibility for basic research. In the case of Horizon 2020, I am delighted to say Ireland ranks No. 1 in Europe in winning contracts in the SME strand. In 2017 we reported that a total of €475 million had been secured by Ireland under Horizon 2020. The committee will hear later this week about a large win by an Irish company under Horizon 2020. It will be announced in the next few days. That is important for us because it does not just attract investment in research and development but it also promotes strong collaboration between Irish and European companies which has helped them to win against competitors from outside Europe.

I will also mention the recent allocations made from the regional enterprise development fund. Just over €30 million has been allocated in the first round to 21 projects throughout the country. Research is an important element. The second call, for a further €30 million, will be announced within the next six weeks and focus on supporting infrastructure and developments in regions.

Deputy James Lawless asked about complacency among companies, particularly SMEs.

Our experience is that it can be seen either as complacency or as a lack of knowledge in terms of what exactly to do. Brexit is a very big issue facing them. With the Brexit scorecard, our approach has been to help them focus on the things on which they can take action. Earlier, I mentioned innovation, investing in new products and services, competitiveness and market diversification or looking at new markets. Those are practical things they can do that will arm them and help them to strengthen themselves, irrespective of what type of Brexit we have. I will ask my colleague, Ms Lanigan to comment specifically on some of the experiences at the workshop last week in Portlaoise by way of example.