Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Horizon 2020 is the largest research and innovation fund in EU history and is one of the biggest publicly-funded projects in the world. It has huge implications for both the Union and Ireland. It combines all the previous work in the area into a single ring-fenced fund. Approximately €77 billion is the sum involved. That is a considerable investment in Europe's future competitiveness.
It has three distinct elements - excellent science, competitive industries and better society. By investing in science the fund will raise the standard and therefore the attractiveness of European research. This, in turn, improves our competitiveness and, importantly, will ensure a steady stream of world class European researchers. These researchers will be provided with world class infrastructure to enable their endeavours. All of this will bolster the European position as a forerunner in science and innovation. It will help attract the best brains to our shores and ensure a sharing of information and talent throughout the Union. This will help to create jobs both here and throughout the EU.
One field of research to benefit from this will be frontier research. This is research that might not have any direct industrial application and is an outlier in terms of functionality, pushing the envelope of our knowledge. However, it is recognised as having huge implications in its application to other areas. Given its somewhat indirect application to industry it is usually the first to be cut when retrenchment is the order of the day. The 2020 project, through the European Research Council, will boost investment in this area.
As well as public investment, part of the project is to encourage private investment in the sciences. The EU or its member states cannot do it themselves. Innovative companies often find it difficult to raise finance for what might be cutting edge technology because it is not well recognised in the present day. Horizon 2020 will try to bridge this gap by providing loans and guarantees as well as direct investment. This will help to stimulate confidence in the private sector to invest and therefore boost overall private sector investment in areas such as nanotechnology and nanomedicine. The general estimation is that for every €1 publicly invested, €5 of private financing is generated. The idea is that the Union will provide the lead and private funds will follow.
Horizon 2020 takes a new approach to support SME innovation. It will allow SMEs to collaborate on projects as part of a group and to receive support which will be delivered through a dedicated SME instrument. The SME instrument will provide staged supports for innovative projects which have potential for high impact. This is predicated on a sustainable business plan. In tandem with the grants there will be a coaching facility and the availability of consultation to support innovation. The process is designed to ensure a favourable environment in which SMEs can innovate and flourish. Enterprise Ireland has already appointed two dedicated European advisers to deal with SME instrument applications, one in Dublin and one in Shannon. This is very welcome and I hope the Minister will continue to review the adequacy of this number as these projects develop. I also recommend the excellent Irish dedicated website created for the purposes of the project, Horizon2020.ie.

The EU has quite rightly identified seven societal strands where innovation can have a beneficial impact for our citizens.

As we are living longer, there are huge challenges for health demographic change and well-being. Horizon 2020 will particularly focus on research, tackling some of the biggest health issues which exist in our ageing society. Alzheimer's disease and the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant superbugs which will receive particular attention.

Of particular interest in Ireland will be the concentration on food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research and the bio economy. With a booming world population we need to find different ways to sustain life on the planet, be it recycling, waste disposal or our approach to consumption and production, all the while being mindful of our human impact on the environment. With 22 million employed in the wider agricultural sector in Europe, the focus on this area in particular is to be very much welcomed.

Many Irish organisations support the initiative, including the Irish Research Council, InterTradeIreland and the National University of Ireland among many others. All of these will hold briefings and will help demystify the process.

Time does not allow me to go into all of the details of the various programmes. I note the Minister of State's comments on the success of the Irish in attracting funding in previous years and the absolute necessity of not being complacent. The appointment of a high-level review group for the Irish strategy is welcome as we have set very ambitious targets for ourselves. It is good to hear that, to date, Irish researchers have been successful in their applications at above the European norm, and long may this continue. I am particularly pleased that Ireland has the highest success rate for funding under the SME instrument. Now that the banks are starting to function again, this additional and alternative source of funding will go some way to alleviating the difficulties SMEs have been experiencing since the downturn. After all, they are the lifeblood of our economy.

I am very supportive of Horizon 2020, which is an enormous opportunity to maintain and increase Ireland's standing in the field of research and innovation. We have set ambitious targets. The initial signs are good but we must not become complacent, as the Minister of State said. I look forward to further developments. Will the Minister of State commit to returning to the House to keep us updated on the progress made?