David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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781. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the value of the commercialisation fund of Enterprise Ireland for each of the years 2006 to 2016, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18105/17]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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782. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the amount drawn down from the commercialisation fund of Enterprise Ireland for each of the years 2006 to 2016, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18106/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 781 and 782 together.

Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) is globally recognised as the key economic differentiator.  RDI enables companies in Ireland to make products and services that are better, cheaper or more novel than those in global markets.  Thus, in order to export, and to provide insulation from market shocks, such as those posed by Brexit, Irish companies must innovate. 

Enterprise Ireland’s role in this regard is to support and de-risk such RDI either by supporting companies to (1) do RDI within the company (2) collaborate with Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) or (3) source or licence new technologies from HEIs which can provide a step change in innovative capabilities. These supports all help companies to develop new and improved products and services which serve as the basis for sustainable economic growth.

Enterprise Ireland works with researchers across the HEI sector to assist in maximising the commercial return from publicly-funded research. The Enterprise Ireland Commercialisation Fund provides supports for academic researchers to take research outputs with commercial potential and bring them to a point where they can either be transferred into industry or spun out into a new start-up company. In this way, the Commercialisation Fund helps to ensure that there is an avenue for ongoing research to be translated into industry relevant outputs which can drive company creation and growth. The programme funds the development of innovations at all stages of the commercial pipeline to the point where they can be commercialised as new products, services and companies.

The Commercialisation Fund, combined with Enterprise Ireland’s Technology Transfer Supports, facilitates the creation of 25 to 30 new spinout companies per annum (26 for 2016), approximately 15 of which become High Potential Start-Ups each year.  They also generate more than 160 new commercially relevant technologies per annum (186 in 2016) that can be transferred to industry where they can achieve economic impact for companies.

1,518 Commercialisation Fund projects were approved in the period 2006-2016 of which 823 were Feasibility/Proof of Concept projects. These are feasibility grants to investigate, scope and develop a commercial case for an innovation in advance of submitting a full Commercialisation Fund support application to the programme.

Enterprise Ireland approvals and payments under the Commercialisation Fund in the period 2006 -2016 is presented in tabular format below.

Commercialisation Fund Approvals (€m):

Commercialisation Fund Payments (€m):

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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783. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number and value of innovation vouchers issued by Enterprise Ireland for each of the years 2006 to 2016, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18107/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) is globally recognised as the key economic differentiator.  RDI enables companies in Ireland to make products and services that are better, cheaper or more novel than those in global markets.  Thus, in order to export, and to provide insulation from market shocks, such as those posed by Brexit, Irish companies must innovate. 

Enterprise Ireland’s role in this regard is to support and de-risk such RDI either by supporting companies to (1) do RDI within the company (2) collaborate with Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) or (3) source or licence new technologies from HEIs which can provide a step change in innovative capabilities. These supports all help companies to develop new and improved products and services which serve as the basis for sustainable economic growth.

As a first step on the innovation ladder companies can avail of €5,000 Innovation Vouchers. Innovation Vouchers are designed to build links between Ireland's public knowledge providers and small businesses and are helping to create a cultural shift in the small business community's approach to innovation. All small enterprises are eligible to apply for an Innovation Voucher.

A 2013 independent evaluation of the Innovation Voucher Programme carried out for Enterprise Ireland reported that for every €1 invested in this programme, company turnover increased by over €7. As such, the Innovation Vouchers programme is a cost-effective solution to the challenge of encouraging SME businesses to engage in collaborative research with Universities and Institutes of Technology.

There have been 4,479 vouchers redeemed in the period 2006 – 2016, the value of innovation vouchers across this period is presented below.  In some cases the full value of an innovation voucher will not be drawn down.  

Enterprise Ireland Innovation Vouchers (approvals €m):

Enterprise Ireland Innovation Vouchers (number of vouchers redeemed):

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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784. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the value of innovation partnerships undertaken by Enterprise Ireland for each of the years 2006 to 2016, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18108/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) is globally recognised as a key economic differentiator.  RDI enables companies in Ireland to make products and services that are better, cheaper or more novel than those in global markets.  Thus, in order to export, and to provide insulation from market shocks, such as those posed by Brexit, companies in Ireland must innovate. 

Enterprise Ireland’s role in this regard is to support and de-risk such RDI either by supporting companies to (1) do RDI within the company (2) collaborate with Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) or (3) source or licence new technologies from HEIs which can provide a step change in innovative capabilities. These supports all help companies to develop new and improved products and services which serve as the basis for sustainable economic growth.

It has proved extremely useful for firms to access innovative “know how” and R&D solutions across the HEI sector. However, participating in larger scale collaborative research projects can be both a risky and a costly process.  By providing financial support, Enterprise Ireland can help to reduce both the cost and the risk associated with larger collaborative research projects. Innovation Partnerships offer financial support to companies who engage in collaborative research projects with Irish universities and Institutes of Technology with Enterprise Ireland providing grants of up to 80% towards eligible costs of the research project with a view to developing new products, services and cost efficiencies.  

A 2014 independent evaluation of the Innovation Partnership Programme carried our for Enterprise Ireland reported that for every €1 invested in this scheme company turnover increased by over €6.69. In addition, for every €1 invested, the evaluation found that €0.50 in investment from industry was leveraged, enabling the programme to be 50% bigger than it would have been if entirely funded by Enterprise Ireland.  The evaluation also found that 95% of companies supported through the Innovation Partnership Programme would recommend the Programme to other businesses.

There have been 569 Innovation Partnership projects approved in the period 2006-2016. The table below presents the expenditure on innovation partnerships by Enterprise Ireland for each of the years 2006 to 2016.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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785. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the value of funds issued by Enterprise Ireland under the heading of Horizon 2020 for each of the years 2006 to 2016, inclusive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18109/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Following engagement between my officials and the Deputy's Oireachtas office, the following clarification on the information sought by the Deputy was provided by his office:

"The deputy is looking for the aggregate of funding secured under Horizon 2020 for each of the years 2014 to 2016 inclusive with the aggregate broken down by higher education institution, and for the aggregate of funding secured under Framework Programme 7 (FP7) for the each of the years 2007-2013 inclusive with the aggregate broken down by higher education institution."

The requested data in relation to Framework Programme 7 and Horizon 2020 are provided in Table 1 and Table 2, respectively.

It should be noted that neither my Department nor its agencies have any role in the awarding or administration of funding. Funding is provided directly to the successful applicant (company, Higher Education Institution and so on) by the European Commission under terms and conditions set out in a bilateral Grant Agreement between the applicant and the European Commission.

The Tables are derived from data provided by the Commission on an aperiodic basis and in a cumulative manner. Therefore, it is not possible to provide the data in exact alignment with the calendar year.

Table 1: Cumulative Funding to HEIs under Framework Programme 7