Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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108. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the level of take-up of the seed and venture capital scheme in each of the years since its establishment and to date in 2017; the number of jobs supported; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34735/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Successive Governments, through Enterprise Ireland, have invested in the domestic venture capital sector for over 20 years.  This investment has sought to increase the availability of risk capital for SMEs to support economic growth through the continued development of the Seed and Venture Capital industry in Ireland,  thereby achieving a more robust, commercially viable and sustainable sector.

As part of Budget 2013, the Government committed €175 million to the Seed and Venture Capital Scheme 2013-2018, with a target to leverage a further €525 million from the private sector making €700 million in additional capital available to high growth SMEs. Following the conclusion of an extensive and in-depth evaluation, the first call for expressions of interest under this Scheme concluded and commitments of €109.5m were made to a number of funds in the technology and life science sectors. The successful funds have closed, completed fundraising and commenced investing in companies. To date five funds have closed, Atlantic Bridge III LP, Fountain Healthcare Partners Fund II, The Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Growth Fund (ROI) II, ACT V Venture Fund and Seroba Life Sciences Fund III. An allocation has also been made to a new European Angel Fund.

In June 2015, a second call was announced for expressions of interest focused on early stage with a strategy of investing in Irish start-ups. The specific objective is to ensure there is sufficient seed capital in the Irish market to meet demand and to support company creation and commercialisation of research. The deadline for expressions of interest for this process was July 31^st2015. Enterprise Ireland evaluated the expressions of interest received against the published criteria and made total commitments of €65m to 7 fund managers. Four new funds have now been established, AIB Startup Accelerator II Fund, Frontline Venture Fund II, the University Bridge Fund and Suir Valley Ventures (est. 2017), all of which are active and currently seeking investment opportunities. All investment activity for 2016 is reported in Enterprise Ireland’s Annual Seed and Venture Capital Report 2016 which is available on the Enterprise Ireland website.

A third call for expressions of interest was launched in March 2017. The deadline for expressions of interest for this process was 31^stMay 2017.  Assessment and evaluation is currently underway with a view to making commitments later in the year.

Since inception, the funds supported under the 2013-2018 Scheme have drawn down the following amounts from Enterprise Ireland;

In addition, funds in receipt of investment under the Seed and Venture Capital Scheme 2007-2012 are still actively investing. A third and final call for expressions of interest under the Seed and Venture Capital Scheme 2007-2012 was issued in July 2012. As a result of this call the €50 million Frontline Ventures Fund I, €20m SOSventures Fund and the €6m Hoxton Ventures Fund have been established.

Since inception, the funds supported under the 2007-2012 Scheme have drawn down the following amounts from Enterprise Ireland;

Under these Schemes a minimum of double Enterprise Ireland’s commitment must be invested in Irish companies over the lifetime of each fund.

Funds under the Seed and Venture Capital Scheme 2013 - 2018 launched between 2014 and early 2017. The funds launched to date under this Scheme are open for investments and typically have terms of ten years to complete their investments.

By comparison, the funds launched under the Seed and Venture Capital Scheme 2007 – 2012 are several years ahead of the 2013 – 2018 Scheme in completing their investment policies and developing and assisting the companies in which they have invested.

The following table outlines the economic profile of the companies in receipt of investment as of the year end 2016.

The annual Enterprise Ireland Seed & Venture Capital Report for 2016 was launched on 13^thJune 2017. The report highlights that under the 2007–2012 Programme, Enterprise Ireland committed €175 million to continue to develop the seed and venture capital market in Ireland. Up to December 2016, fourteen new funds were launched with an Enterprise Ireland commitment of €174 million. The report also highlights that under the 2013–2018 Programme, Enterprise Ireland committed a further €175 million to continue to develop the seed and venture capital market in Ireland. Up to December 2016, eight new funds were launched with an Enterprise Ireland commitment of €113 million. It further noted that in 2016, venture capital funds in receipt of commitments under the Enterprise Ireland Seed and Venture Capital Schemes made 137 investments in Irish based companies, with a total investment value of €67 million.