Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)

As the take-up by indigenous companies has not been as high as we hoped over the past several years, new programmes have been introduced to increase the level of participation. Enterprise Ireland has a number of programmes of particular relevance to research and development. The programmes are aimed at stimulating research and innovation among companies which are new to product, process and service development activities. These financial supports, which include research and development stimulation grants, allow companies to explore how research and innovation can drive their future development.

The research and development fund supports innovation in services, products and process in companies which are ready to progress to larger projects. Companies which want to set their own research agendas can apply to Enterprise Ireland's research and development fund, which supports market led innovation in manufacturing and services companies. Companies can also get funding for collaborative research projects.

In addition to financial supports, companies can avail of the guidance of a team of professional experts in building research projects, innovation management and creating value from intellectual property.

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