Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 98: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will report on the work to date in 2006 of Enterprise Ireland; the amount of new investment here being supported by Enterprise Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32051/06]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The day to day work and investment decisions of Enterprise Ireland are matters for the agency itself, and not ones in which I am directly involved. Enterprise Ireland provides a detailed breakdown of approvals, payments and all significant activities relating to the implementation of the Agency's strategy in its Annual Report. The most recent annual report, which covered the period January to December 2005, included a full set of audited accounts and was published on 20th June 2006.

Launched in 2005, Enterprise Ireland's current strategy document 'Transforming Irish Industry 2005-2007' sets out a number of targets against performance which Enterprise Ireland aim to achieve over the three year period. The targets include €3 billion in new export sales by year end 2007; an increase to 596 in the number of firms engaged in meaningful R&D (€100,000+) by 2007; an increase to 42 in the number of firms engaged in significant R&D (€2 million+) by 2007; support for the creation of 210 high potential start-up companies and a commitment to drive export readiness by implementing productivity and competitiveness improvement projects in over 300 firms. Significant progress was made in 2005 by Enterprise Ireland against these targets, as reported in its 2005 Annual Report.

Enterprise Ireland continues to implement the strategy set out in 'Transforming Irish Industry 2005-2007' and will report on progress against specific targets in the 2006 Annual Report. In terms of 2006 activities, Enterprise Ireland has approved €112.5 million to client companies. This funding has been for specific company and enterprise development projects including investment in commercialisation of research, applied and collaborative R&D, productivity improvement projects, training and management development and export development.

In 2006 to date, Enterprise Ireland has been involved in a number of high profile activities. These include the launch of a new €175 million round of Seed and Venture Capital funds; the approval of €7 million for 24 Community Enterprise Centres, and the provision of an Enterprise Ireland fund of €30 million to strengthen university technology transfer offices. Also, 94 companies have been approved funding under Enterprise Ireland's Productivity Improvement Fund launched in May, 2005.

Enterprise Ireland is implementing a number of recommendations arising out of the Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) report 'Ahead of the Curve', and the subsequent Government Action Plan. The actions include the implementation of a €2.5 million Industry Led Networks pilot. The first call for proposals took place on March 3rd 2006 and resulted in the approval of facilitation funding for 17 Networks to assist in the development of a collaborative project. Full project funding for two networks was also approved, one of which is a North-South collaboration. The second call closed on July 28th and applications are currently being assessed.

Another outcome from the implementation of the ESG recommendations, through the Government Action Plan, is Enterprise Ireland's International Selling Programme, which commenced on 10th February, 2006. This innovative programme is designed to assist exporting companies to develop international sales strategies. Some 32 participants, representing 30 companies from across all sectors, are enrolled on this course.

This year Enterprise Ireland was also involved in the design of a fund for the Dairy Sector which was announced by my colleague Ms Mary Coughlan T.D. Minister for Agriculture and Food. Enterprise Ireland will administer the Fund which is designed to improve efficiency in the sector, and to act as a catalyst for the development of the dairy industry in Ireland. The investment will include some €100 million of Government grant assistance.

A number of trade missions were also organised and managed by Enterprise Ireland in 2006, ensuring that Irish companies continue to seek out and secure new export sales in existing and emerging markets throughout the world. To date, trade events have included trade missions to South Africa, Australia, India, China, Japan and the Ukraine.