Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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60. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her plans to travel to CERN in Switzerland; and if she has given consideration to the State becoming a member of CERN. [38532/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Innovation 2020, the national strategy for research and innovation, recognises that in order for Ireland to become a Global Innovation Leader, our research and innovation system must be open with strong international collaboration links. Membership of leading International Research Organisations is an important mechanism for facilitating this engagement. For this reason, the Government gave a specific commitment in Innovation 2020 to initiate negotiations with CERN on Ireland's membership options.

Discussions with CERN commenced in 2016 and senior officials from my department, Enterprise Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland visited CERN in Geneva in July 2016. The Director-General of CERN, Dr Fabiola Gianotti, visited Dublin in October 2016 and met with the former Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor T.D. The information gathered during these engagements has provided my officials with a comprehensive understanding of the potential benefits of membership of CERN. While these benefits are significant, the cost of membership is also significant. Therefore, the case for membership of CERN is being assessed in the context of other investment priorities.

The case for membership of CERN is being considered in the context of the Mid-Term Review of the Capital Plan, which covers the period 2018-2021. The Mid-Term Review will be completed before the end of 2017 at which point I will be in a position to make a recommendation regarding Ireland's membership of CERN.

In view of the visit by my officials to CERN and the visit of the Director-General to Dublin, I have no plans to visit CERN in Geneva prior to the completion of the Review process.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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61. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of jobs that have been created as a result of the State's membership of the European Space Agency, ESA; the amount allocated to the ESA for membership since 2012; the number of visits made by her or Ministers of State; the travel costs associated with same; the number of officials that have travelled to facilities operated under the remit of the ESA in 2015 to 2016 and to date in 2017. [38533/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Ireland is a member of the European Space Agency (ESA) since 1975. Since joining, Ireland has used ESA programmes to develop an industrial sector in space technologies and equipment for the European and global space market.

ESA provides the sole means of providing critical space technology development and qualification to enable Irish industry access to the global space market. Unlike their international competitors, Irish companies do not have access to national space development or procurement programmes and without ESA support would be at a major disadvantage to their international competitors.

The Irish Government’s investment in the space sector is generating significant economic impact, particularly in terms of jobs, exports and new company formation. The number of Irish companies active in space related activities has grown by 100% from 30 to 60 in the period 2010 to 2016. These companies employed 2,000 people in Ireland in 2016 and employment is expected to grow to over 5,000 by 2020.

Ireland’s contributions to ESA are set out in the following table.

In the period 2015 to date, there has been one visit to an ESA operated facility by a Minister or Minister of State at the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation (DBEI). On 24 April 2017, John Halligan TD, Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development led an Enterprise Ireland trade visit to ESTEC, the European Space Research and Technology Centre in the Netherlands. The Minister was accompanied on the visit by ten Enterprise Ireland client companies, three of which announced contracts totalling almost €2 million with ESA on the day.

In December 2016, ESA hosted their Ministerial Council in Lucerne, Switzerland. Minister Halligan represented Ireland at Council, where multiannual budgets were agreed and decisions were made on a range of policy and programmes covering the period to 2020.

The Minister’s expenses for both visits are set out in the following table.

The only other State visit to an ESA facility in the period 2015 to 2017 occurred in January 2016 when An Taoiseach led a delegation to ESTEC. Enterprise Ireland Chief Executive, Julie Sinnamon and officials from DBEI and Enterprise Ireland also took part in the trade mission. During the visit, Enterprise Ireland signed an agreement with the ESA to develop a Space Business Incubation Centre in Ireland (ESA BIC Ireland), which is now established and has already seen two companies benefit from this agreement.

In addition to formal State visits, Ireland’s space policy interests in the European Space Agency are advanced through various ESA committees and programme boards by two officials from DBEI, with support from three Enterprise Ireland officials who advise on technical and scientific matters. The meetings are primarily held at ESA’s headquarters in Paris.