Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 487: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the plans for making innovation vouchers available in every sector as discussed in the programme for Government; when this expansion of the vouchers will be completed; the cost of such vouchers to the Exchequer; and the estimated monetary benefit from same. [26904/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Innovation Vouchers are now available to small businesses in every sector subject to the condition that the applicant is a registered company. The Innovation Voucher Initiative was introduced in April 2007. In the 2007 pilot phase of the initiative 428 companies received vouchers with a total grant allocation of €2.14 million. In the first half of 2008 a further 188 vouchers were awarded with a total value of €940,000 bringing the total allocated fund for this Programme to just over €3m. The 2008 target for vouchers issued is 400, though of course this is a demand led scheme and therefore the uptake of vouchers is a factor of the response of companies.

An All Island Innovation Voucher scheme, involving both enterprises and research institutions both North and South, was launched on 27th May 2008. The Programme is being administered jointly by Enterprise Ireland and Invest NI.

Under this Programme vouchers to the value of €5000 are awarded to companies which will allow them explore a business opportunity or problem with a public research body thereby facilitating knowledge transfer to their business. In addition to the face value of the voucher, there is a 30% allowance of the redeemed value of the voucher, provided to the knowledge providing institution in respect of overhead costs. The vouchers can be redeemed in an approved higher education institute, including universities and institutes of technology, for work undertaken to progress an idea to a workable concept.

This Programme offers small enterprises the opportunity to collaborate with an academic institution and could include the assimilation of new technology to meet their particular business needs. In addition to providing support to small enterprises an important impact of the Programme is that it stimulates companies that do not currently engage in research and development to take the first steps in formal product or process improvement and also introduces them to the research facilities available in higher education institutions. Experience from other countries indicates that this is a very successful way of stimulating innovation in business, and one of the objectives of the scheme is to encourage a change in attitudes to R&D within companies.