Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 307: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the supports that are being put in place or that are planned to support the indigenous digital gaming industry by reforming the research and development supports available to this industry; the funding that will be set aside from the Innovation Fund for Ireland for a seed capital scheme for Irish digital gaming start up; when an announcement will be made on this funding; the other initiatives that will be put in place to ensure that Ireland becomes an established digital gaming hub; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22235/11]

John Lyons (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 309: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in view of the high potential for job growth in the online gaming industry here, his plans to aid the development of this sector including his plans to address reported skills shortages in key areas of games development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22385/11]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 307 and 309 together.

Digital gaming is one of a number of key sectors which I see as offering strong potential for growth and increased employment in Ireland. The global video games market was valued at US$55.5 billion in 2010 and is expected to grow to US$82.5 billion by 2015, making it the fastest growing segment of the wider entertainment and media sector. It is a rapidly moving marketplace and one where Ireland could become a significant player.

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to support the digital games industry and promote Ireland as a digital gaming hub. The sector directly employed 1,500 people in Ireland in 2010 in core games companies, representing a fourfold increase since 2004, with a further 1,000 employed people in online gambling. There is considerable potential for jobs growth in the core video games sector, with further potential for growth across related sectors and activities, such as eLearning, animation, etc.

I met recently with representatives from the Digital Gaming industry to discuss how we could further develop the sector. At present, Forfás is preparing a report for me on the potential of the industry. The report will identify key actions that need to be taken to optimise the development of Digital Gaming in Ireland. I expect to receive the report from Forfás before the end of this month and I will give it early consideration. I will seek the support of my Government colleagues, as necessary, to take appropriate actions required to further develop the sector on foot of the report.

The Programme for Government pointed to the R&D tax credit as a means of further enhancing Ireland's attractiveness to the digital game industry. Detailed consultations have been underway in recent months involving my Department, the enterprise agencies and representatives of the many active and growing games companies operating in Ireland. These discussions have included in-depth examination of those elements of the games development process that fall within the provisions of the R&D tax credit to ensure they are fully understood and availed of by the industry and also to determine where there might be room for enhancement.

Innovation Fund Ireland is part of a suite of policy initiatives to position Ireland as a Global Innovation Hub. The overall objective of the Innovation Fund is not just to increase the availability and diversity of smart capital for start-up and scaling firms, but also to transform the market by attracting top tier fund managers to Ireland and support the further development of the venture capital sector. The extent to which the Digital Games sector will attract financing will become clearer over time.

In the meantime, companies can compete for funding under Enterprise Ireland's new Internet and Games Competitive Start Fund. Enterprise Ireland set up the new Fund as a mechanism to get financial support into very early stage companies at the critical product-market fit stage of their projects.

In March, I announced the 10 companies that had been successful under the first call under the Fund. Each of the ten companies receives an equity investment of €50,000 for a 10% ordinary equity stake, along with the support of an experienced business mentor to guide them as they develop their business. Following the huge interest in this first call, Enterprise Ireland expanded its offer with a second fund (Competitive Start Fund) that is also open to software companies in the games, telecoms, software as a service (SaaS), cloud computing and enterprise software sectors.

With regard to skills shortages, over the past few months, my Department's officials have been working with the Secretariat to the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, the Higher Education Authority and the Department of Education and Skills to more precisely clarify issues in relation to skills gaps in the ICT sector as a whole and how they might be addressed. Discussions have taken place with over 25 foreign-owned and indigenous companies to establish information on the scale and nature of issues involved and the reasons for reported difficulties.

The Minister for Education and Skills, Minister Quinn, has confirmed his commitment to work collaboratively with the sector on measures to increase the longer term supply of graduates, and to address the skills needs of the sector in the interim through an expansion of conversion and re-skilling courses.