Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I made the point in previous replies that the National Treasury Management Agency is actively seeking to address this issue with Enterprise Ireland and is making some progress. The innovation fund is not simply a publicly funded research programme. It is using publicly funded research in as coherent and cohesive a manner as possible and leveraging venture capital.

It is true that it has been difficult for entrepreneurs to access banking facilities or get capital into some technology companies. Due to the long-term return that is sometimes involved, people find it hard to get support from banks, the State or agencies or moneys that would help them develop their companies and perhaps internationalise them. The idea is to try to develop Irish multinationals, internationalise these companies and prevent their intellectual property value being transmitted or purchased by larger entities. That is an issue which arises from time to time and has been experienced, as the Deputy stated, in some cases, perhaps even the majority of cases. We need to try to change this development.

Enterprise Ireland and other bodies are conscious of the need to find ways and means of supporting companies which have been spun out, such as those to which the Deputy referred, and try to keep them in Irish ownership, with a view to developing them commercially in this country, rather than have their intellectual property sold on to multinationals. In some cases, it is retained in Ireland but in other cases it goes elsewhere.

It is in some respects the prerogative of inventors as to whether they want to bring their idea further along the commercial path or take its immediate value by recognising that there may be a means by which it can be advanced and developed more quickly under a larger company such as a multinational than would be the case if they were to do so themselves. That is a commercial or value judgment that is made by entrepreneurs from time to time. Some stick with it in terms of ownership of the development of the idea, while others sell on their idea. As has been said, what we need to do is try to provide a support structure which will encourage more of them to develop their ideas themselves.

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