Dr. Brian Keegan:

Specific guidelines are issued by Revenue to assist companies in dividing between their routine manufacturing activity and their research and development eligible activity. As long as they follow those guidelines, it is possible for companies to establish clearly in euro and cent exactly how much they should be eligible for. There is also an auditing process, one that can be two-staged. First, Revenue's audit ensures that the legislation and guidelines are being properly followed. Second, there can be a further investigation involving an external technical expert to ensure that the kind of work that is being undertaken is bona fide research and development and, therefore, eligible.