Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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50. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which innovation continues to be a feature of enterprise and investment here; if she has satisfied herself that new enterprises have adequate access to innovation technology and-or appropriate assistance from the European Union; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43329/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) is globally recognised as the key economic differentiator and, as such, a very important feature of enterprise and investment in Ireland.Put simply, RDI enables Irish companies to make products and services that are innovative, competitive and more novel than those in global markets. This continued innovation helps to insulate us from market shocks, such as those posed by Brexit.

Enterprise Ireland, an agency of my Department, has a role in this regard either by: supporting Irish companies to carry out RDI within their company; by collaborating with Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) or by sourcing/licensing new technologies from HEIs which can provide a step change in their innovative capabilities.

These supports all help companies develop new and improved products and services which serve as the basis for sustainable economic growth and are detailed below:

In Company RD&I- In Company RD&I supports the development of new or substantially improved products, services or processes which will have a competitive advantage in their target market. This enables companies to increase employment through sustainable and substantially increased sales;

Innovation Vouchers - providing vouchers worth €5,000 aims to introduce them to innovation, linking them with a network of knowledge providers, North and South of the border;

Innovation Partnerships- helping industry to engage in collaborative research projects with Irish universities and Institutes of Technology to develop new products and services;

Technology Gateways- providing Business Development resources to the Institutes of Technology and other firms to help them interact with industry on a local, regional and national basis;

Technology Centres- Technology Centres, a partnership between Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland, are organised to respond rapidly to industry defined needs and conduct market-relevant R&D in partnership with collaborating groups of companies. Participating companies propose areas and themes of greatest relevance to them over a 3-5 year period. In response, the researchers develop solutions that respond to these needs, often exploring avenues that can lead to new licensable intellectual property;

Campus Incubators- such facilities are internationally recognised as an important element of public assistance for technology-intensive start-ups. Incubators now exist on every university and Institute of technology Campus in the country.

Going forward, Enterprise Ireland will continue funding its critical existing programmes along with new supports for innovation, such as:

The Business Innovation Initiative (BII)- is aimed at driving innovation beyond selling products based on technical innovations; in turn providing more customer focussed process and service solutions;

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Initiativeis a cross-government process that allows public bodies to use public procurement to source R&D and innovative solutions to solve ‘identified challenges’ with solutions that are not currently commercially available. This provides significant business opportunities for innovation focused companies.

High Potential Start Up (HPSU) support is the most significant and relevant support available for new start-ups is Enterprise Ireland’s. HPSUs are start-up businesses with the potential to develop an innovative product or service for sale on international markets and the potential to create 10 jobs and €1m in sales within 3 to 4 years of starting up. A range of supports are available under the HPSU offer such as the:

Innovative HPSU Fund- providing support to early stage companies considered to have an innovative product, service or technology with the potential to achieve international sales and create employment. It is an equity investment into HPSU clients on a co-funded basis to support the company’s business plan. This offer also leverages private investments to help the company grow and succeed in the implementation of their business plans;

New Frontiers Programme- a national entrepreneur development programme delivered locally through the Institutes of Technology (IoTs) and funded by Enterprise Ireland.

Competitive Start Fund (CSF) – aimed at accelerating the growth of start-up companies that have the capability to become HPSU companies.

EU Funding

Assistance from the European Union (EU) continues to play a vital role in supporting innovation in enterprises operating in Ireland, both indigenous SMEs and foreign-owned multinational companies.

Enterprise Ireland also has supports in place to help companies maximise the funding they can receive from the European Union.

Horizon2020 is the instrument which supports collaborative R&D in Europe and provides an important source of non-exchequer funding for companies. It enables us to amplify the impact of domestic public investment by leveraging complementary funding from the EU.

Horizon 2020 has a budget of €75 billion and runs from 2014 to 2020. A budget of €30 billion has been allocated to the final three years of Horizon 2020, which will provide significant funding opportunities for companies in Ireland that participate in the programme over the period 2018-2020. Ireland has won €424 million from 2014 to May 2017 in competitive, EU funding from Horizon 2020. Higher Education Institutions accounted for €233 million of the total and companies, €151 million. The funding for companies included €94 million awarded to SMEs.