Dáil debates

Thursday, 12 February 2015

Other Questions

Research and Development Supports

10:40 am

Photo of Dara CallearyDara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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11. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his plans to encourage greater levels of research and development here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6096/15]

Photo of Dara CallearyDara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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This is merely to discuss with the Minister the area of research and development and where we are in attaining the Horizon 2020 targets. There is some superb work under way. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation visited UCD and UCC. Where is the work with SMEs and how are SMEs being encouraged to get involved in the research and development agenda?

Photo of Gerald NashGerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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All of our agencies have policies in place to encourage greater levels of research and innovation and to build the innovation capacity of our enterprises. Enterprise Ireland directly supports companies which engage in innovation, with instruments designed to support companies at different levels of engagement in innovation. IDA Ireland also has a suite of supports for client companies which invest in research and has been successful in attracting new research and development activities to Ireland.

Both IDA Ireland and EI collaborate in the establishment of clusters of companies to engage in innovation through technology centres. Nine new technology centres have been established under this Government, the most recent of which was launched last week in dairy processing where huge opportunities exist for Ireland.

Science Foundation Ireland is a major funder of enterprise-focused research. Through research prioritisation it has ensured that investment is made where Ireland has the capacity build competitive advantage. Its flagship investment in 12 world-class research centres has made industry partnership a prerequisite for success.

A major focus of all the efforts of State agencies has been to increase the impact of investment in research on job creation. To this end, Knowledge Transfer Ireland was established in 2013. It has built upon the new IP protocol by taking initiatives to increase the uptake in terms of licences and spin-outs. The opportunity for successful commercialisation is supported by EI programmes for high potential start-ups and by the commercialisation fund.

These policies are having an impact. The levels of business expenditure on research and development has increased from €1.86 billion in 2011 to an estimated €2.09 billion in 2013, and approximately 300 companies have committed €200 million towards SFI's 12 research centres. Collaborations between industry and researchers continue to grow and now involve more than 2,200 enterprises. Overall the number of research active enterprises is steadily growing.

Photo of Dara CallearyDara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I endorse the Minister of State's remarks about SFI. It is doing a superb job and its research centres are excellent. To drill down into those statistics the Minister of State quoted, foreign-owned enterprises are responsible for 70% of research and development expenditure in the country. That means Irish indigenous companies are far behind the curve when it comes to research and development expenditure. Almost three quarters of the total expenditure on in-house research and development was by companies with more than 50 employees.

Some of the work that SFI is doing with small companies is excellent. No doubt small companies are the nucleus of much amazing research and development work, but either we are not engaging with traditional small companies directly to get them onto this agenda or we are failing in bringing the benefits of Horizon 2020 and the research and development programme to SMEs. What kind of partnerships would the Minister of State envisage for organisations, such as the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association, the Small Firms Association and, in particular, the local enterprise offices, to bring them to the stage where research and development is the future? We have had a lot of regional discussion here this morning. Perhaps there are companies in that county or some of those towns which could be getting involved in research and development to create employment.

Photo of Gerald NashGerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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There are a range of different activities going on at present. One company that I am particularly knowledgeable about is called Combilift. It is an amazingly successful company that is dedicated to the area of research and innovation, and the benefits of that have really borne fruit with its major jobs announcement last week. Three quarters of research and development active companies are our own SMEs, many of which are exporting and are encouraged and supported by Enterprise Ireland and - progressively so - by the local enterprise offices to engage in research and innovation. There are, through Enterprise Ireland, progressive options for participation. There are opportunities to obtain research and development vouchers, innovation vouchers and grants and to develop partnerships as well with third level institutions and other actors in that space.

From travelling around the country and talking to people in local enterprise offices, it is my experience that their growing connections with third level institutes of technology and universities will be increasingly important in ensuring that our SMEs can occupy that research and development space. Deputy Calleary will be familiar with all of that. Good work has been undertaken by this Government and the previous Government in the research and development space. It is an area in which we have invested considerably in recent years and we now can see the benefits of that.

Photo of Dara CallearyDara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Combilift is a fantastic company. There are a range of companies in the north east - they seem to be an innovative lot up there - but we should be looking for the next Combilift or McHale Engineering. This is the chance, with the extra resources allocated to Horizon 2020. I would urge the Minister of State to push the LEOs harder in this space because these offices have the business organisations on the ground and they have the potential to spot who will produce the next Combilift.

Photo of Gerald NashGerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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Our agencies, such as IDA Ireland, are involved in pilot mid-tier programmes to bring small and medium-sized companies up to the level that we all want them to be at. There is a lot of activity in that space.

There has been significant investment ring-fenced by Government around research and development, even during difficult times, because we could see the benefits of State investment. I have had the opportunity to participate in a number of trade missions over recent months. One aspect for which we are renowned in this country is our work in the area of innovation, and that is what the Irish SME sector can bring to foreign companies abroad. Our SMEs are strong on that sense of innovation in bringing added value to products that they may have developed, and they will continue to do that. We are focused as a Government in supporting our SMEs to grow, and the best way to do that is through investment in research and development.