Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

11 o’clock

I take the Deputy's point about companies taking the risk of putting time and money into innovation. We have an important role to play in supporting companies in that regard. Many companies tell me they get so caught up in their challenging day-to-day work that it is difficult to take any time out to innovate. Sometimes, companies do not use the available range of supports. We need to publicise further the research and development fund as well as the innovative high-potential startup fund, which has received a large allocation from Enterprise Ireland.

While I take the Deputy's point that the big research centres are more connected to large-scale business, there is potential for collaboration. Enterprise Ireland will connect companies with particular researchers and institutes in order to develop their products, and its commercialisation fund provides supports for academic researchers to pursue research outputs with commercial potential. There are a number of schemes.

Cashflow can be an issue for firms undertaking research and development. In this context, the research and development tax credit has been amended to meet the needs of SMEs.

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