Mr. Brian Caulfield:

On the idea of a driver's manual, Scale Ireland is a relatively small organisation that is quite lightly resourced. We do not generally advise the individual companies but rather are focused on representation. However, this is an area where many of the hubs are already very active with programmes to help companies to become investor-ready and make sure they are thinking about the longer term funding journey that a company has to go through. It is also an area where many of the colleges, through their innovation hubs, are active. That is obviously very positive.

On the general area of patenting costs, it is fair to say this is an area where many Irish companies are weak in terms of their IP strategy. Sometimes there is perhaps an overemphasis on patents when that may not even be the correct IP strategy in some cases. There is a case to be made for more support from Government to enable companies to define an appropriate IP strategy for the business they are in at an early stage.