George Lawlor (Wexford, Labour)
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257. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to set out the supports he has put in place to assist university based enterprises to commercialise and grow in scale innovations and research discoveries made there; the discussions he has had with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to identify and incubate potential campus enterprises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33307/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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My Department, under the Science and Technology Programme, delivered by Enterprise Ireland, supports the commercialisation of publicly funded research out of Ireland's Third-level sector primarily through the Enterprise Ireland Commercialisation Fund.

The Commercialisation Fund further supports third-level researchers through three different grants: feasibility grants (€15,000); proof-of-concept funding (up to €100,000); and full commercialisation fund awards. These supports help validate market opportunities and de-risk technologies, enabling the development of commercially viable products and services and High Potential Start-Ups.

In tandem with the Commercialisation Fund, my Department, through Enterprise Ireland, co-funds KT Boost, Innovator's Initiative and Technology Gateways Programmes with the European Regional Development Fund.

KT Boost is a €34 million, four-year programme that funds our national network of Technology Transfer Offices in Universities and Technological Universities. KT Boost is enhancing IP management, licensing and spinout creation. It is expected to increase the number of spin-outs, High Potential Start-Ups (HPSUs), commercialisation fund awards, as well as research agreements with enterprise.

The Innovators’ Initiative provides €28 million over seven years to four sector-specific programmes hosted by Research Performing Organisations around the country. These programmes train innovators to identify unmet market needs and establish new enterprises or bring their expertise into industry, with pathways to further support through the Commercialisation Fund and HPSU programmes.

Under the Technology Gateways Programmes, there are 17 Gateways across all regions which are open to all companies connecting them into our TUs supporting applied research. The Gateways support access to EI Grants such as Innovation Vouchers and Innovation Partnerships.

The above programmes operate within the framework of the National IP Protocol, maintained by Knowledge Transfer Ireland, which provides model agreements and best practice guidance for managing intellectual property and fostering collaboration between academia and industry as research is commercialised.

These measures reflect my Department's and the Government’s commitment to fostering a robust research commercialisation ecosystem and ensuring that innovations developed within our Third Level sector to be translated into economic and societal benefits.

My Department has extensive and close interaction with the Department of Further & Higher Education , Research, Innovation and Science and its agencies, where we work closely together, across a wide number of areas, to advance our shared goal of a strong, cohesive and resilient research and innovation ecosystem that supports enterprises, researchers and wider society. This engagement includes the Impact 2030: Ireland's National research and Innovation Strategy Steering Group and Implementation Forum, where my Department provides targets and actions for the strategy and works closely with DFHERIS on its implementation.