Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Question 315: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if design of development capital initiative has been completed and launched; if the second call has been published; if not, when this will be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20068/12]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Development Capital Scheme as outlined in the Action Plan for Jobs has been developed to complement the existing suite of financial supports offered by Enterprise Ireland. A range of other initiatives are already in place for the provision of capital at the early stage and scaling phases, and a clear market failure was identified in the availability of risk capital for established companies seeking to sustain growth and achieve greater scale.

Longer-term investment capital is currently not readily available to Irish growth focused companies in either the form of debt or equity, and there is very limited private equity funds/debt available to innovative SMEs. This situation has resulted in an equity gap, which is constraining the development of a key cohort of established Irish growth companies. Development Capital can be defined as equity funding for the expansion of established and profitable firms, that is, those that have passed the start-up stage.

The Scheme was launched on the 12 April 2012 and a call was issued by Enterprise Ireland for 'expressions of interest', from fund managers. This 'call' allows for a three month period before a closing date.

The exchequer funding requirement for this scheme is €50m over 10 years. It is proposed that Enterprise Ireland will commit €25m each to two funds which will leverage a further €50m each from the private sector. Any fund investments supported by EI under this scheme would be made under the 'market economy investor principle' seeking a maximum return for the State by sharing equally in the risks alongside other investors. The scheme will focus on funds that provide equity or quasi debt of between €2m to €10m per investment although it is likely that many investments would be in the €2m to €5m range.

The second call referred to by the Deputy relates to Innovation Fund Ireland. The second call for expressions of interest under that Fund was issued on 16 March 2012.