Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the progress that has been made in the South East to develop and pilot an innovation graduates programme in conjunction with the Institutes of Technology; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3405/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Technovation programme, which supports graduates to undertake innovation projects for companies in the south–east region of Ireland, is being piloted by Enterprise Ireland in partnership with Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT). It provides eighteen–month, full-time employment opportunities for recently qualified graduates in fifteen Enterprise Ireland companies and Irish-owned SMEs across Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow, and South Tipperary. These projects form an accredited part of the Postgraduate Diploma in Innovation Practice offered by WIT on which participating graduates are enrolled. As an integral part of the programme, the Postgraduate Diploma in Innovation Practice has been designed specifically to enhance the innovation capacity and capabilities of indigenous SMEs in Ireland, and comprises academic and practical components as well as a paid internship. Enterprise Ireland provides financial support to each participating company in respect of the graduate's salary (up to a maximum of €22,500), as well as covering the graduates' course fees. The programme commenced in September 2012.