Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 82: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which he has had discussions with the EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science with a view to obtaining maximum support for the innovation and technology sectors; the extent, if any, of a planned programme agreed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29116/11]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Both I and the Minister for Research and Innovation, Sean Sherlock, TD, continue to have meetings, as the opportunity arises, with the EU Commissioner for Research and Innovation, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, with a view to building strong relationships to ensure that Ireland maximises the benefits of our position in the EU in terms of jobs and opportunities to further develop our economy.

The Seventh EU Framework Programme for Research and Development (FP7), with a budget of over €50 billion for the period 2007 to 2013, is the EU's main instrument for funding research and development in Europe. 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 based in Enterprise Ireland who leads a team of national contact points for various elements of the Programme. 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.

According to the European Commission's latest report on FP7, Ireland has secured over €333 million under the Programme to date. This illustrates that Ireland continues to punch above its weight in successfully accessing EU funding for research and development. In fact, the report shows that Irish Small and Medium-sized Enterprises have the highest participation rate in the Programme of all the 27 EU Member States.

I should emphasise that the competitive nature of EU research programmes means that funding is based on the quality of applications from research organisations from both the academic and the industry sectors. Ireland's strong performance in securing this level of competitive funding validates our strategy for the development of a knowledge-based economy, capable of sustaining economic growth and more and better quality jobs for this economy.