Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Question 22: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the funding allocated to encourage innovation over and above that which was allocated by the previous Government. [14628/11]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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1The use of innovation has a crucial role to play in supporting economic recovery and in driving sustainable employment in the current environment. A wide range of programmes are being delivered by the Enterprise Agencies - IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland, to promote innovation and give Irish enterprise a competitive edge in the global market place.

Numerous measures have been taken to supporting enterprise to ensure that trade, exports and investment are positioned to retain sustainability and to ensure that emerging opportunities can be maximized. These include: - R&D Funding through Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland - Competence Centres established in strategically important sectoral areas like nanotechnology and bioenergy, and the new generation of Technology Centres. The Centres are designed to allow groups of multinational and indigenous firms to work together with academics to undertake cutting edge, industry led research. - Supports for new start-up companies with the potential to achieve significant exports - 80 new High Potential Start Ups were established in 2010 - In 2010, over 49 pieces of commercially relevant technology were transferred from State Funded Research into industry. - The Enterprise Ireland Technology Transfer System facilitated the creation of 31 spin-out companies in 2010 - 526 Innovation Vouchers were redeemed in 2010 worth over €2.5m, bringing the total number of Innovation Vouchers redeemed since the scheme opened to over 1,000. - Collaboration between SFI funded researchers and industry has also increased significantly in recent years. At present SFI is supporting 29 top-class research centres (9 CSETs and 20 SRCs) and SFI funded researchers are collaborating with over 550 industry partners, both multinational and indigenous. - Both in 2009 and 2010, IDA investments of over €500m were in research, development and innovation, and these investments are central to productivity and new business development in the multinational sector.

The Exchequer allocations for 2011 from my Department to the agencies under its remit involved in encouraging innovation are as follows

Enterprise Ireland – Subhead F – Research and Development 2057is in receipt of €140.259m from my Department, (of which €131.393m is capital and €8.866m current funding).

Science Foundation Ireland 2057has a budget of €175.142m, (of which €160.8m is capital and €14.342m current).

IDAhas been allocated €124.577m, (of which €86m is capital and €38.577m current funds).

These allocations are provided for ongoing Enterprise Agency activities aimed at encouraging innovation, and ensuring that emerging opportunities are maximized.

The Government has arranged that a comprehensive spending review of existing capital and current spending will be undertaken, and it is currently ongoing. All allocation of funding will be considered in this process, my Department will be fully engaged in that Spending Review and future funding will be determined by the outcome of this work.

It will be my aim to enable the enterprise agencies under the remit of my Department to continue to support and encourage innovation and thereby help enterprise to be sustainable, develop, grow and provide jobs in this country for Ireland's workforce.