Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Arising from Budget 2014, the 2014 Exchequer allocation to my Department and the agencies under its aegis has been set by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform at €781 million. This allocation comprises a current allocation of €339 million and a capital allocation of €442 million. Individual allocations across my Department and its agencies will be presented in early December as part of the Revised Estimates Volume. It is expected that Exchequer capital allocations, together with capital carryover and reinvestment of income generated by agencies, will maintain job and enterprise creation agency allocations broadly in line with 2013 expenditure. This will facilitate the continued delivery of a range of enterprise and research and innovation programmes, which are crucial in achieving a return to economic growth and the generation of sustainable jobs across the enterprise base, from micro-scale enterprise to the largest multinational.

These measures will deliver a range of improvements in 2014. The House has been given details of the IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland targets, the investment in mentoring and the establishment of the local enterprise offices. Two new large and internationally visible research centres are being funded by Science Foundation Ireland in sectors of national strategic importance. Continued support is being given to more then 20 world-class Science Foundation Ireland research centres and to a cohort of 3,000 researchers to maintain and drive Ireland’s job creation strategy. I will not go through all the details. Budget 2014 will also enable the continued delivery of almost €2.5 billion in new non-bank credit schemes, some of which we discussed earlier. These schemes will target the full range of businesses from micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises to mid-sized Irish exporting businesses and high-growth technology firms.

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