Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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373. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the integration, on a practical level, that exists between InterTradeIreland and the local enterprise offices, Enterprise Ireland, the Industrial Development Agency Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland. [38388/15]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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InterTrade Ireland, as an all-island Body established under the Good Friday Agreement, has a unique mandate to assist small businesses to develop trade and innovation opportunities on a cross border basis. Obviously it is very important that the Body does not duplicate work being undertaken by other Development Agencies and, also, that it engages with those bodies to ensure that any potential synergies are realised. It is noteworthy that InterTrade Ireland has worked just recently with Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland and the LEOs in the development of the Regional Action Plan for Jobs initiative.

On an ongoing basis, the Body works very closely with Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) in promoting their unique suite of supports to Enterprise Ireland and LEO client companies. Enterprise Ireland and the LEOs are represented on a number of InterTrade Ireland Steering Committees that oversee the implementation of a number of the Body’s programmes, including the All Island Horizon 2020 Steering Committee, which works to maximize the North/South drawdown levels of support from that EU Science fund. The Halo Business Angel Network is a joint venture between InterTrade Ireland and Enterprise Ireland and is focused on creating investor groups/syndicates across the island.

In addition, the Senior Management team of InterTrade Ireland proactively engages with the Senior Management of Enterprise Ireland and the LEOs to consult and plan in a strategic manner.

InterTrade Ireland works with Science Foundation Ireland on the US Research and Development Partnership which was initiated to increase the level of collaborative Research and Development amongst researchers and industry professionals in the USA, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. To date 19 projects have been successfully funded under the partnership from a variety of sources.