Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 301: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will ensure that within Forfás there will be sufficient credible sectorial data on start-up businesses, survival rates over time, a multi-year tracking of a sample of new firms over time to learn from their progress or lack of it, the impediments to growth and getting value added before a firm is acquired by a larger United States company, tracking spin-outs from university research; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26957/11]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Forfás currently collects and analyses data on the performance of enterprises supported by IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Shannon Development and Udarás na Gaeltachta. Forfás works with these agencies on the completion of a number of annual surveys - most notably the Forfás Annual Employment Survey and the Annual Business Survey of Economic Impact.

The agencies provide Forfás with annual updates, including information on company start-ups and closures, as part of the preparation for the Annual Employment Survey. These data are built in to the Forfás Business Information System and Employment Survey System on a systematic basis. Sectoral analysis of these data are produced for various Forfás reports and the data are also used for calculating metrics which the enterprise development agencies report on an annual basis (e.g. first-time jobs, cost per job sustained, etc.).

The Forfás Business Information System draws data from enterprise agencies on company closures. Survival rates are calculated from these data and are monitored by the agencies themselves. Forfás data maintained on the Business Information System are longitudinal time-series, so multi-year tracking can be undertaken for all agency supported firms. The individual agencies undertake their own in-house analysis on their client companies' progress. All of Forfás's research reports contain policy conclusions and, as appropriate, recommendations focusing on ameliorating impediments to enterprise growth.

The Forfás Annual Business Survey of Economic Impact tracks value-added performance of all agency client companies on an annual basis. Acquisitions by US multinationals can be tracked using the Forfás Business Information System which contains information on the country of origin of the company in question. Forfás, in conjunction with my Department, is currently finalising a report on the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation (2006-13) which will contain the most recently available data on Ireland's science, technology and innovation performance, including company spin-offs from research and development. It is anticipated that this report will be published on my Department's website and Forfás's website within the next month.

Information in relation to supports and assistance provided by the County and City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) is not included on Forfás's databases. This information is, however, entered by individual CEBs onto a common database which is managed centrally by the CEB Central Coordination Unit within Enterprise Ireland. An annual client survey conducted by individual CEBs is used to verify the number of jobs created and sustained across all CEB clients.