Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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56. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the degree to which science and innovation continues to play a role in the setting up of new or supporting existing enterprises here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23971/14]

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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The importance of investment in science, technology and innovation to Ireland’s ongoing and future economic and social development has been well recognised by the Government. Our focus has and continues to be very much on prioritising public investment in research while better exploiting results in order to lead to an acceleration of growth and job creation. This investment in scientific research is having many positive impacts including powering an innovative and enterprising economy, creating high-value jobs, attracting, developing and nurturing business, scientists and talented people and ensuring Ireland is connected and respected internationally.

In order for companies to grow their employment, they need to increase their competitiveness and grow their sales and export growth; to achieve success on the global market they must be innovative in order to differentiate themselves. Investment is based on a dual approach. Firstly, investing in people, infrastructure and associated facilities to build the science base and secondly, direct support to the enterprise sector to build their capacity for research and development.

Enterprise Ireland, together with the IDA and Science Foundation Ireland, provide a spectrum of science, technology and innovation development programmes that deliver financial, technical and experiential support to help companies become more innovative, encourage and support competitiveness, and help them grow their sales and exports in order to create a climate in which sustainable employment will grow and expand.

Employment by companies supported by Enterprise Ireland increased by a net 5,442 in 2013. This represents the highest level of job growth in a decade and is a positive indication of a productive indigenous enterprise sector where investment in science, technology and innovation continues to play a key role. Similarly, IDA Ireland saw a fourth consecutive year of employment growth with 7,071 net new jobs in 2013 and 164 new investments won, with 27 of these specifically in Research, Development and Innovation. Science Foundation Ireland is a key part of the enterprise ecosystem and in 2013 SFI had links to 41% (2618) of 6,449 jobs (90 company announcements) announced by the IDA in all fields.

The commercialisation of research represents one of the most direct ways a return from the investment in science and innovation can be seen and this return is most recognisably evidenced by the number of commercially valuable technologies transferred from the higher education sector to industry and the number of spin out companies created that are based on academic research. Enterprise Ireland has responsibility for the commercialisation of all research funded in the State and it employs two main approaches in this regard; by funding the commercialisation & technology transfer infrastructure in the State and by operating a commercialisation funding programme.

Enterprise Ireland’s research commercialisation activities helped to create thirty-four spin-out companies from higher education research and facilitated the transfer of over 100 pieces of commercially valuable technology to companies in 2013. Over 100 companies were created via its on-campus entrepreneurial training initiative, New Frontiers. These activities were supported by the extensive campus incubation facilities which housed 350 companies employing over 1500 people in 2013.

The recent launch of Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI) - the state funded central technology transfer office - further advances the Government’s plan to strengthen and standardise the Irish knowledge transfer infrastructure.

KTI is the first resource of its kind in Europe and offers businesses the ability to search research and expertise available in Irish HEIs, find opportunities to licence new technology and IP, and access practical guides and model agreements - all of which can be used by business as a starting point to engaging with the research sector.

The 2014 European Commission’s Innovation Union Scoreboard, published recently shows Ireland increasing its position from tenth to ninth in the overall ranking of 28 Member States. It is also particularly encouraging to see that Ireland is the overall leader in the indicator for the economic effects of innovation. This captures the economic success of innovation in employment in knowledge-intensive activities, the contribution of medium and high-tech product exports to the trade balance, exports of knowledge-intensive services, sales due to innovation activities and license and patent revenues from selling technologies abroad.

The Action Plan for Jobs gives a clear mandate to Enterprise Ireland to drive entrepreneurship and new business start-ups. 2013 was a very strong year with many highlights, including the big increase in female led start-ups and the strong showing of new start-ups from overseas and spin-outs from Irish Universities and Institutes of Technology. In 2013, Enterprise Ireland invested in 104 new High Potential Start Up companies and also provided critical funding to 85 early stage entrepreneurs under its Competitive Start Funds. These companies come from a wide range of sectors including key areas that the Government has targeted for growth, including the financial services, ICT, games, pharmaceutical and medical devices.

The Action Plan for Jobs 2014 emphasises the importance of innovation and the use of technology as core drivers of job creation in Ireland’s key sectors during 2014 and into the coming years. Research and development support programmes and initiatives remain key to the setting up of new and supporting existing Irish business in order to drive growth, sustainability, exports and employment. My Department and its enterprise agencies will continue to promote the application of research, development and innovation to gain competitive advantage and to build on the strengths that have emerged from the investment to date in Science, Technology and Innovation.