Professor Willie Donnelly:

I have given a detailed submission and this is just a short summary of that. As the Accounting Officer of Waterford Institute of Technology, WIT, I welcome the opportunity to appear before the Committee of Public Accounts to discuss the Comptroller and Auditor General's special report on the development and disposal of intellectual property in FeedHenry. WIT was established in 1970 to address the needs of industry in the city and the wider region.

As the basis on which the economy had been built began to crumble in the 1990s, the community in the city turned to WIT for solutions. It is now ten years since Waterford Crystal closed in Waterford. Its closure had a devastating effect, not only on the workforce, but also on the wider community. The economy of the city had been based on manufacturing, the port and associated heavy industries. By the time of the Waterford Crystal closure, this economic base had been decimated. Moreover, the demise of Waterford Crystal, a prestigious brand that made the city known all over the world, was a symbol of the demise of the city in the minds of the people of Waterford.

With the needs of that community in mind, our focus as an institute has been on rebuilding the economy of the region for the 21st century through cutting-edge research and by being leaders in technology and innovation. Starting with the establishment of the Telecommunications Software and Systems Group, TSSG, and the subsequent establishment of two centres of excellence in biopharma and advanced manufacturing, we have worked hard to bring about a transformation of the industrial landscape in Waterford and the wider region. This has required WIT to go outside its traditional role as a teaching college and necessitated major investment in resources and structures that were supported by our own central funding, unlike in universities.

In 2004, WIT created the ArcLabs Research and Innovation Centre where researchers, entrepreneurs, business support and high potential start-ups are co-located. At the time, this was a radical concept and required the development of new governance and management structures. Now it is widely replicated and considered best practice. The success of this model was highlighted by Enterprise Ireland at the Committee of Public Accounts in 2013, when it stated: "Waterford is a shining example of how co-locating the incubation centre with the institute has led to the establishment of a software industry that probably should not have existed in Waterford." The creation of this software industry in Waterford was driven by the success of the TSSG. Since 1998, the TSSG, which is widely recognised as a global leader, has brought more than €90 million in competitive research funding to the region and completed over 600 research and innovation projects. It has 90 staff members of more than 20 nationalities. Over 300 former employees of the TSSG have moved into alternative employment in the ICT sector in the region. Between 2013 and early 2017, the TSSG technology gateway completed more than 260 projects for Irish companies. The TSSG has been a vehicle for foreign direct investment and, with its spin-out, FeedHenry, has attracted major venture capital investment in Waterford. FeedHenry was established at the height of the economic downturn, but still achieved venture capital investment when there was virtually no investment of this type nationally. We recently saw the establishment of a dedicated venture capital platform in the south east and a high potential start-up accelerator programme that is driving the next generation of employment.

From nothing, today the region has over 100 high technology companies. The software industry in the region employs more than 3,000 highly qualified professionals. There is no question that this industry at this scale would not exist but for the TSSG and the efforts of the institute. This level of success is almost unprecedented in Irish higher education. Our efforts have paid off and we are well on course to replace all the jobs lost in Waterford Crystal. The institute is proud of its success, and it continues to be ambitious for the city and region and anticipates a bright future for high technology industry in the area.

It is worth noting that, in research, innovation and commercialisation, Ireland continues to develop and evolve. As with all third level institutions, the governance and management infrastructure has matured since 2010. The organisational design, processes, procedures and systems in WIT have evolved over the past decade to reflect the evolution of the Higher Education Authority knowledge transfer system. The review of intellectual property management and conflicts of interest, commissioned by Knowledge Transfer Ireland and the Higher Education Authority, HEA, performed a deep analysis of the intellectual property management and conflict of interest system as exists in WIT. We were one of the five reference sites. The report indicates that the system implemented in WIT is consistent with established international practice.

Regarding the specific matters under consideration today, the institute welcomes the Comptroller and Auditor General's special report. WIT has worked closely with the Comptroller and Auditor General to ensure that all information relating to the development and disposal of intellectual property in FeedHenry was made available in a timely manner and, where sought, we provided contextual and supporting information. Importantly, the institute has fully reviewed its internal policies and practices in light of the report's recommendations and is satisfied that the majority of recommendations have been fully implemented.