Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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127. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the degree to which the reliance on technology remains an integral part of business and enterprise expansion; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17065/18]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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130. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which innovation and technology remains an integral part of new businesses being set up here in the past 12 months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17068/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 127 and 130 together.

Technology and Innovation remains an integral part of any business, both new businesses getting started and established companies wishing to continue to grow and expand.  In simple terms, innovation involves helping companies improve competitiveness by developing new processes, products or services.  Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) are essential components in a company’s ability to maintain a competitive edge in the market and increase output.

Enterprise Ireland’s annual business results survey notes that Enterprise Ireland clients invested €916m in innovation in 2016 and over half of these used Enterprise Ireland RDI funding and support. This illustrates the commitment to innovation in firms, both new and existing and also the importance of Enterprise Ireland support in helping them to pursue their Innovation goals.

Enterprise Ireland encourages companies to engage with RDI 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.  At the same time Enterprise Ireland has supports in place to help companies maximise the funding they can receive from the European Union.  These supports all help new and existing companies to develop new and improved products and services which serve as the basis for sustainable economic growth and are detailed below.

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.  The new Agile Innovation Fund was launched in Quarter 4 2017 and is already gaining huge interest from companies.  This Fund allows up to 50% in support for projects to a maximum total cost of €300,000 and has fast track approval.