Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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101. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of applicants that received funding under Enterprise Ireland’s high potential start-up feasibility grant in each of the years 2014 to 2017 and to date in 2018, by county; the number that received funding by firm size of less than ten, 11 to 49, 50 to 249 and more than 250 employees; and the amount paid out by county and by firm size in tabular form. [22974/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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HPSUs are companies which have the potential to develop an innovative product or service suitable for export, and which have the potential to create 10 jobs and €1m in sales within 3 to 4 years of establishment. In 2017 Enterprise Ireland supported 90 HPSUs with an equity investment.

Enterprise Ireland’s HPSU Team works with start-up companies to ensure that they can avail of suitable supports to enable them to realise their potential. One of the financial supports that is available to companies is the HPSU Feasibility Grant.

The HPSU Feasibility Grant assists a new start-up company or individual entrepreneur to examine the viability of a new export oriented business or proposition.  The objective of the study is to provide the necessary information to enable the promoter to reach firm conclusions regarding the project's viability, and set out investor ready plans associated with developing and commercialising the product or service. 

The following tables present an overview of (1) the number of companies in receipt of payments over the period on question; (2)the number of companies in receipt of payments by company size; and (3) the number of companies in receipt of payments by company size broken down by county.

Table 1: Number of Companies In Receipt Of Payments 2014-21.05.2018

HPSU Feasibility Grant: Number of Enterprise Ireland supported companies in receipt of payments under this grant by County/Year*

Table 2: The Number of Companies In Receipt Of Payments By Company Size

HPSU Feasibility Grant (2014- 21.05.18): Number of Enterprise Ireland supported Companies in receipt of Payments by company size (All counties)

Table 3: Number of Companies in Receipt Of Payments By Company Size Broken Down By County

HPSU Feasibility Grant (2014- 21.05.18): Number of Enterprise Ireland supported companies in receipt of payments under this grant by company size and county

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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102. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of applicants that received funding under Enterprise Ireland’s commercial case feasibility support in each of the years 2014 to 2017 and to date in 2018 by county; the number that received funding by firm size of less than 10, 11 to 49, 50 to 249 and more than 250 employees; and the amount paid out by county and by firm size in tabular form. [22975/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The aim of the Commercialisation Fund is to improve the competitiveness of Irish industry. This is achieved through both the creation of technology based companies and through the development of licenses.  The programme funds researchers in the higher education system to develop innovations at all stages of the commercial pipeline, to the point where they can be commercialised as new products, services and companies.

The Fund is available for projects that address a gap or need in the market by developing innovations that will ideally be ready for licensing to Irish industry, or may form the basis of a new start-within 5 years.  Licenses developed may be accessed by companies in order to develop products, processes and services, in order to bring them to a point where they are ready for new domestic and international markets. 

The Commercial Case Feasibility Support is a funding support which can be obtained by researchers, in partnership with their Technology Transfer or equivalent office, for a short Feasibility Project (up to 3 months) to scope and develop the commercial case for their innovation.  Support is provided to assist the project team to:

- Perform Market analysis and validation

- Profile the competitor landscape

- Perform Patent landscaping and develop an IP strategy

- Investigate potential routes to exploitation to the economic benefit of Ireland

- Understand relevant regulatory issues or other barriers/hurdles to commercialisation

- Create a small demonstration or early prototype

The following table below outlines the number of projects that received funding under the Commercial Case Feasibility Support in each year by Institute and the associated payments in that year for 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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103. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of applicants that received funding under Enterprise Ireland’s agile innovation fund in each of the years 2014 to 2017 and to date in 2018 by county; the number that received funding by firm size of less than ten, 11 to 49, 50 to 249 and more than 250 employees; and the amount paid out by county and by firm size in tabular form. [22976/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Enterprise Ireland supports companies across Ireland to start, innovate and remain competitive in international markets, now and into the future.  Enterprise Ireland’s focus for 2018 is to help clients build on the strength of their 2017 performance by supporting them to innovate, be competitive and to diversify their global footprint - key attributes required to be resilient to economic shocks, such as Brexit.

Innovation is at the centre of Enterprise Ireland’s strategy, Build Scale, Expand Reach 2017 – 2020. Innovation enables companies to develop tailored products and services for global customers. It also enables companies to develop efficient processes to support their competitive offering.  This support includes grant funding for companies.

Enterprise Ireland provides grant support for companies to carry out in-house research and development, and also to harness the knowledge and expertise of the Higher Education Sector.

In November 2017, Enterprise Ireland launched a new fast-track Agile Innovation Fund to give companies rapid access to innovation funding. This fund supports companies in sectors with rapid design cycles to maintain their technology position.  The benefits of this grant are that it allows for a very simple application process and delivers a very fast response from application to approval. This fund allows companies to access up to 50% in support for product, process or service development projects up to a total cost of €300,000.

The Agile Innovation Fund has recently opened for applications for funding, which are currently being processed. To date nine companies have been approved funding under this initiative, although no payments have been made as yet.  It is envisaged that grant approvals under this initiative will come online over the coming weeks.

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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104. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of applicants that received funding under Enterprise Ireland’s in-house research, development and innovation fund in each of the years 2014 to 2017 and to date in 2018 by county; the number that received funding by firm size of less than ten, 11 to 49, 50 to 249 and more than 250 employees; and the amount paid out by county and by firm size in tabular form. [22977/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Enterprise Ireland supports companies across Ireland to start, innovate and remain competitive in international markets, now and into the future.  Enterprise Ireland’s focus for 2018 is to help clients build on the strength of their 2017 performance by supporting them to innovate, be competitive and to diversify their global footprint - key attributes required to be resilient to economic shocks, such as Brexit.

Innovation is at the centre of Enterprise Ireland’s strategy, Build Scale, Expand Reach 2017 – 2020. Innovation enables companies to develop tailored products and services for global customers. It also enables companies to develop efficient processes to support their competitive positioning in global markets.

The number of companies by county and size in receipt of payments under Enterprise Ireland’s R&D fund is presented as follows.

Number of companies in receipt of Payments under Enterprise Ireland’s in-house R&D Fund by County/Year

Number of companies in receipt of payments under Enterprise Ireland’s in-house R&D Fund by size (2014 - 21.05.18)

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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105. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of applicants that received funding under Enterprise Ireland’s strategic consultancy grant in each of the years 2014 to 2017 and to date in 2018 by county; the number that received funding by firm size of less than ten, 11 to 49, 50 to 249 and more than 250 employees; and the amount paid out by county and by firm size in tabular form. [22978/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Enterprise Ireland offers a range of financial and non-financial supports to client companies to enable them to withstand the challenges and avail of the opportunities presented by the current economic climate. One of these supports is the Strategic Consultancy Grant, which is only available to SMEs, in line with EU State Aid guidelines.  The Grant supports the hiring of a strategic consultant to help the company develop and/or implement strategic initiatives which will help them to compete in international markets.

The following tables present an overview of (1) the number of strategic consultancy (assignments) over the period on question; (2)the number of companies in receipt of payments by company size; and (3) the number of companies in receipt of payments by company size broken down by county.

Table 1: Number of Strategic Consultancy (Assignments) Over the Period on Question

Strategic Consultancy (Assignment) No. of Company in receipt of Payments by County/Year*

Table 2: Number of Companies in Receipt Of Payments By Company Size

Strategic Consultancy (Assignment) 2014 - 21.05.18 No. of Company in receipt of Payments by company employment (All counties)

Table 3: Number of Companies In Receipt Of Payments By Company Size Broken Down By County

Value of payments by County/Firm Size 

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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106. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of applicants that received funding under Enterprise Ireland’s market discovery fund in each of the years 2014 to 2017 and to date in 2018 by county; the number that received funding by firm size of less than ten, 11 to 49, 50 to 249 and more than 250 employees; and the amount paid out by county and by firm size in tabular form. [22979/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The best way for Irish companies to withstand current global economic challenges is by diversifying their export footprint. One of the new supports that Enterprise Ireland has introduced to encourage companies to enter new markets is the Market Discovery Fund.

Launched in January 2018, the Market Discovery Fund aims to encourage companies to expand into new markets by helping with the costs of researching viable and sustainable market entry strategies.

The Fund provides support towards both internal and external costs incurred by companies when researching new markets for products and services. Eligible companies can receive support when they are looking at a new geographic market for an existing product/service, or when looking at exporting a new product/service to a market that they already do business in.

The Market Discovery Fund is available across three levels:

- Level 1: Grant up to €35K

- Level 2: Grant greater than €35K but less than €75K

- Level 3: Grant greater than €75K but less than €150K

The maximum funding is 50% of eligible expenditure up to a maximum grant of €150,000. Eligible expenditure includes, but is not limited to, salary support, consultancy costs, trade fair costs and foreign travel.

The Market Discovery Fund was launched in 2018, and has only been open for applications for a number of weeks. It is not possible, therefore, to provide data prior to this year. To date, fifteen Market Discovery Grants have been approved. As the fund is at such a nascent stage it is not yet possible to report on the geographic spread or take-up among different sized companies.