Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 65: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the action being taken to make Irish Small Medium Enterprises aware of the European research and development fund FP7; the Enterprise Development Agency that has been tasked with helping SMEs in their application and advising them of the processes involved; if there will be equal access for all enterprises to make an application in this fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24289/10]

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Research Framework Programme is the EU's main instrument for funding research in Europe and successive programmes have been operating successfully since 1984. They have played a particularly important role in bringing European researchers (in academia and in industry) together in collaborative research projects, in facilitating the mobility of researchers across Europe and in supporting economic and social development. Irish participation in the Framework Programmes over the last 20 years has provided essential funding and collaborations, which have fostered the growth and development of the Irish research base.

The current Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) has a budget of over €50 billion, covering the seven-year period 2007 to 2013 and it has been designed to build on the achievements of the previous programmes towards the creation of the European Research Area and carry it further towards the development of the knowledge economy and society in Europe. There is a specific focus on SMEs under the programme. The aim is to enable at least 15% of the funding for collaborative projects under the programme to go to SME participants. To help achieve this a specific scheme under the programme involves dedicated measures to support SME participation.

In order to extract the maximum benefit from the opportunities available within FP7, a National Support Network has been put in place, headed by a National Director for FP7 who leads a team based in Enterprise Ireland. This support structure ensures that a coordinated and coherent approach is adopted towards FP7 across all of the government departments, agencies and other organisations involved. Through this support structure, a mix of guidance, advice and financial assistance is available to encourage researchers and companies, large and small, to avail of the opportunities within the programme. As well as having national contact points specialising in specific areas of research, there is a national contact point within Enterprise Ireland dedicated to supporting SME participation in the programme.

The range of financial supports available through the National Support Network to potential participants include travel support, which assists researchers to meet with potential partners, and proposal preparation support for academic coordinators and companies, covering all costs associated with submission of FP7 applications. Further information, including contact details, is available from the website of the FP7 National Support Network, www.fp7ireland.com .