Jimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

In 2007 the IDA concluded negotiations for 54 new research and development investments, resulting in a series of significant industrial and academic research collaborations. Enterprise Ireland has set a target of more than doubling the number of indigenous companies engaged in research and development in excess of €100,000 per annum and to increase fivefold the number of indigenous companies spending in excess of €2 million per annum on research by 2013.

However, these targets are only a means to an end. Indigenous companies that are innovative compete effectively internationally, drive our export performance and create sustainable employment. By continuing to win research and development investments from the multinational sector, the IDA is bringing the core knowledge creation activities of these companies to Ireland, enhancing the importance of the Irish operation to the global corporation and placing the Irish operation in pole position to sustain or win new business investment in the future. Enterprise Ireland and the IDA support a range of measures to develop and enhance collaborative links between industry and academic researchers. In 2007, Enterprise Ireland provided €73 million for schemes aimed at ensuring we have the capacity to capture and transform the ideas and advances coming from higher education research into commercial reality.

In the future, Ireland will make its living by producing innovative products, designs and services. Overall the trends to date from our investment in the strategy for science, technology and innovation are positive. It is critical to our future success that we continue to invest in the human infrastructure to achieve our goals of transforming Ireland into a cutting-edge knowledge economy. The ramp up in investment in research in Ireland is very recent by international standards and other countries are also investing in this area. However, by sustaining our projected strategic investment in research and development, we will realise economic and employment gains and improve our competitive advantage. The increased pressures of globalisation, and the emergence of newly industrialised players in the world's economy, lead to one conclusion. We must innovate or we will stagnate. Notwithstanding the difficult circumstances, the Government has chosen to put its weight behind planned, substantial, sustained investment in research development and innovation, which I am sure will continue to be justified and proven in the years to come.

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