Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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51. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which science and innovation supports have been made available to small and medium enterprises in each of the past five years to date; the number of jobs created under this heading; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23966/14]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Enterprise Ireland’s mission is to work with entrepreneurs, Irish businesses, and the research and investment communities to develop Ireland’s international trade, innovation, and competitiveness with the ultimate objective of employment and export growth. Enterprise Ireland’s support is targeted primarily at exporting companies, delivered by working directly with businesses, and the research and investment communities to build sustainable competitive advantage for our economy and assist companies in achieving success in global markets. Assistance is available from Enterprise Ireland for all stages of company development from, for example, small projects under the Innovation Voucher Scheme to larger projects under the Innovation Partnership Scheme and the R&D Fund. Over the last five years, Enterprise Ireland has made payments of €199 million to companies in respect of a range of direct research and innovation activities as follows:

*The reduction in R&D payments over the period 2009 – 2013 is due mainly to the impact of the recession.

In addition to the direct supports for research and innovation activities Enterprise Ireland also funds industry focused Technology Centres with over 300 member companies at present and the Technology Gateways programme which generates over 200 collaborative research projects completed for industry each year to provide interfaces between the academic research community and companies in Ireland.

All of Enterprise Ireland’s business development supports, including research and innovation funding, contribute to the overall export and employment figures of Enterprise Ireland’s client companies, the majority of which are SMEs. The following table shows the total number of jobs created by Enterprise Ireland client companies from 2009 to 2013. This data is based on the Annual Employment Survey carried out by Forfás in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland. The survey results do not provide a breakdown by company size or type of support received.

This steady increase in employment growth demonstrates the positive impact of Enterprise Ireland’s direct support for SMEs. The growth in employment also reflects increasing levels of exports from EI client companies which reached €15.2 billion in 2011, €16.2 billion in 2012, and €17.1 billion in 2013. Enterprise Ireland supported companies, directly and indirectly, are estimated to account for more than 300,000 jobs in the Irish economy or approximately 16% of the total number at work.

Information on all supports for research and development is available on the Enterprise Ireland website – .