Vol. 728 No. 6
34 Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation when the Source Ireland portal will be set up as per the programme for Government; the persons who will be responsible for running this portal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5861/11]
36 Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation when the new Export Trade Council will be established; the number of members that will be appointed to this Council; the way these members will be appointed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5860/11]
39 Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation if the commitment in the Programme for Government to implement the recommendations of the Trading and Investment in the Smart Economy means that he will see through the Smart Economy strategy [5793/11]
52 Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the way local trade and investment teams will be set up in emerging economies; the persons whose remit these will be under and the persons who will be responsible for overseeing their activities, including reviewing their targets; the way the scholarship scheme will be administered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5862/11]
60 Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation when the new Export Trade Council will be established; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5346/11]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 34, 36, 39, 52 and 60 together.
The Government believes that Ireland's economic recovery must be export led and as such, is committed to taking the actions necessary to support that export growth to the maximum possible. We are also committed to promoting the long-term development of new markets. The programme for Government has outlined the Government's commitment towards the progressive implementation of the recommendations in Trading and Investing in a Smart Economy , which was launched in September last. This is the first time that all of the relevant agencies and Department involved in promoting overseas trade, tourism and investment came together with an integrated approach to achieve a set of agreed priorities and targets for both existing and new high-growth potential markets. The targets agreed by these agencies are to be implemented through a suite of actions driven by a recently established Foreign Trade Council. These actions are aimed at strengthening Ireland’s international image and brand, strengthening in-country presence and support, developing and internationalising our enterprise base, developing Ireland as a hub for global high-technology enterprises and clusters, aligning visa policy with priorities in the strategy, support for SMEs, continuing development of international trade agreements, joint actions and partnerships with other countries and effective engagement with the business community.
The Government supports the overall objective of the strategy and action plan which is to marshal and co-ordinate the resources of the State. We believe that its implementation will result in sustained efforts of all key Departments and agencies. As soon as the transfer of trade functions to the new Department of foreign affairs and trade, as announced by the Taoiseach, has been effected, the nature, structure, future role and time lines of the proposed export trade council will be considered as a matter of urgency. The Government is conscious of the need to avoid establishing new groups and bodies unless absolutely necessary and will therefore consider what amendments to the membership and terms of reference are needed to re-align the existing Foreign Trade Council, one of which is to introduce private sector membership onto that body.
As I highlighted already, the Government fully supports the consensus that economic recovery will be export led. Included in the process of achieving that will be looking at all initiatives to facilitate export growth and there will be an examination of how we can better provide a portal for companies seeking to export Irish good through a single Source Ireland portal. There are also proposals to introduce a home-to-export initiative which would focus on companies exporting for the first time.
I am conscious of the valuable work already undertaken by Enterprise Ireland in helping Irish companies to sell their goods and services abroad, and this is an opportunity to develop that work. It includes breaking into new and high growth markets such as the BRIC countries and also in facilitating existing Irish companies in getting new and innovative products into new markets.
I welcome the Source Ireland portal proposed by the Government to market Irish goods and services overseas. When will this be developed? Has the Department begun to develop this? How will enterprises link in to it?
There is a website already established called thinkirish.ie. Is the Minister intending to develop the portal along the lines of that site and co-operate with those who operate it?
As I indicated in reply to an earlier question, we are developing within my Department a jobs programme into which each of these initiatives will slot. We are examining the existing operations and how they can be improved and amplified by proposals such as the Source Ireland portal and the other initiatives specifically targeting exports.
No doubt many small businesses have the capability to export. Enterprise Ireland now recognises that a greater amount of its effort needs to go to a wider range of companies that might not have always been regarded as the key exporters in order to see where the job opportunities can be developed. Typically, it will be in smaller companies. We are looking at how a package of measures can be developed that help smaller companies to break into export markets. We hope there will be a series of initiatives that will be knitted together. I hope to develop that package within 100 days.
It is a work in progress at this stage.
In terms of the export trade council issue, there is already a Foreign Trade Council in existence which is made up of senior representatives from relevant Departments. The concept of that is to promote the brand Ireland, develop the St. Patrick's Day potential; and trade missions utilising the existing embassies. When the export trade council is established, what will be different about it from the Foreign Trade Council? There is a mixture of public and private sector involvement. The concern, which I am sure the Minister would share, is that we do not need another quango. We need to know what are the terms of reference and what is distinctive from the Foreign Trade Council.
What is the procedure for the appointment of personnel from the private sector? There has been much criticism of the appointments of the outgoing Government as it was about to leave office. Will the procedure for appointments come before this House so that we can scrutinise the capacity of the individuals appointed?
The idea of introducing trade into the Foreign Affairs brief is to get a better focus from the diplomatic service on the need to make those embassies the selling point for Ireland, both in investment and in trade. The need to use that instrument in which we invest to best advantage is shared widely across the House. To be fair, many of those embassies are already doing that. That is the logic of including trade under the remit of the Department of Foreign Affairs. Clearly, that transfer will take time. The development of the new export trade council will be done jointly, with the Tánaiste as a key player.
The introduction of private sector players is believed to bring greater focus in that the needs of business are brought directly into the mix when strategies are worked out.
We are not losing momentum. Local teams for the promotion of trade and tourism investment, including State agencies and local ambassadors, have been working and developing plans. That work is ongoing. However, the method of appointment and detailed terms of reference have not yet been decided. I recognise, as I did in my earlier response, the Deputies' concern. We are not trying to create big quangos. We believe that, owing to the need to export and the depressed state of the domestic market, we must maximise the impact of the foreign resource and sweat these assets. That is the purpose of this work.
35 Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the date on which the network of technology research centres will be established as per the programme for Government; the locations for the initial three centres to be established; the way these will be funded; the timeframe for the establishment of further centres; the location of these centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5864/11]
In the programme for Government a commitment has been given to establish a network of technology research centres that will accelerate the exploitation of new technologies and bridge the gap between research and technology commercialisation. The initial focus will be in the key areas of biotechnology, nanotechnology and high value manufacturing.
In establishing the technology research centre networks I intend to build on the existing infrastructure of relevant centres for science engineering and technology, CSETs, strategic research centres and competence centres currently in place. My intention is that over a period of time a programme will be devised that will put in place a structure, or structures, to deliver on this initiative. Experience has shown that the best results are delivered when such centres are established by means of a competitive process. In this way the best proposals come to the top, ideas can be generated and refined, collaborations established and both industry and research centres afforded an opportunity to define the most apposite agenda to bring together both the needs of the present and the opportunities of the future. This process will determine both the timing and location of the centres.
The programme for Government has committed to the initial establishment of three technology research centres, one in each of the fields of biotechnology, nanotechnology and high value manufacturing. The establishment of an applied biotechnology centre is timely because it will allow Ireland to fully capitalise on the very significant investments made in our basic research base since the late 1990s through highly talented people and the provision of world-class infrastructure. Nanotechnology is set to have a big impact on sectors which are important to the economy, in particular ICT, life sciences and the food sector. Ireland has made substantial investments in nanotechnology research, principally in CRANN in TCD and the Tyndall National Institute in UCC. A Forfás review of the nanotechnology infrastructure in Ireland proposed that the State should take a more proactive role in driving the commercialisation of nanotechnology, diversify funding and collaborate with industry and academia to deliver on key focus areas and leverage existing resources more fully.
The proposal to establish technology research centres can facilitate a transformational change, enabling Irish industry to exploit new opportunities. The timeframe for future centres will be determined by the progress and success of the three initial centres.
Before calling Deputy Tóibín, I advise the Minister and Ministers of State that the length of their replies is well in excess of the time limit.
For years we have heard Governments talk about developing a knowledge economy, but at the same time moneys have been ripped from the education area. There have been two difficulties in the research and technology sector during the years. The first concerns the amount of money being invested and the priority given to the sector, while the second concerns the ability to monetise research results, create feasible businesses from them and sell them abroad. I welcome some of the initiatives mentioned by the Minister of State and look forward to seeing some of them being pursued. I have a major issue with the technological research that takes place in that there is no understanding of what the market thinks. It is said the market has all of the answers. What input will industry and the market have in developing the technology and research initiatives mentioned? In most enterprise initiatives there is some level of benchmarking to establish what amount of money will be returned on each euro invested. What return does the Minister of State expect to receive on each euro invested under this initiative?
We already have a process in place which adopts the clustering approach and brings together industry and research institutions. The purpose is to create synergies between industry and the research function within third level institutions in order that research findings can be commercialised. In the applied nanotechnology sector, for example, companies such as Aerogen, Analog Devices, Intel and Medtronic are all well established and already have well established links between industry and the research component. The Deputy has raised a valid point as to when research takes place and when the findings are commercialised. A relationship is developing between Science Foundation Ireland and Enterprise Ireland and it is growing deeper as the months pass and the sector becomes a more important part of the economy and our recovery. It has become glaringly obvious that we need to ensure the two agencies work side by side to ensure jobs are created as a result.
I will revert to the Deputy on the question of value for money and the return on our investment. I have the same question and, therefore, beg the Deputy's indulgence in giving a response. At this time I am being briefed as a new Minister of State and only developing my knowledge of the situation. These questions are inherent in the process. I will be happy to share information with the Deputy in due course.
We are out of time, but I will allow Deputy Donnelly to put a question. I ask him to be brief.
I welcome the Government's investment in the research centres. I will pick up on Deputy Tóibín's point. I understand the Minister of State is new in the brief, but I imagine he did not pick up on the three areas of biotechnology, nanotechnology and high value manufacturing. Evidence from around the world shows that governments, even with the best interests, are incredibly bad at choosing areas in which the private sector should invest. There are many examples of failure from all over the world in this regard. On the basis that the Minister of State was given these three areas, I encourage him to look hard at why and how they were chosen. Were they chosen by the private sector companies which were going to have to commercialise operations in them or were they chosen by Government bodies or quangos which concluded they were good areas in which to invest? The Minister of State should look closely at why they were chosen and encourage the participation of the private sector in choosing the areas in which research will be developed.
The Deputy's comments presuppose that there is no interaction between the private sector and the Government. However, there is interaction, through the State agencies. I invite the Deputy to look at the Enterprise Ireland website or interact with the organisation when he will see there is a vast array of companies which interact with both it and Science Foundation Ireland. There is interaction between them so as to ensure research findings can be commercialised. The three strands selected were industry-driven and driven by the technology leaders within the various competence centres. The strategy is clear and well thought out. If the Deputy has ideas as to where there should be research, I would welcome engagement with him in that regard.
Question No. 36 answered with Question No. 34.
37 Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation his plans to develop export programmes for small businesses; the facilities and assistance that currently exist for small companies wishing to export; if he will consider a State wide export programme for small and medium enterprises that do not have the ability to grow in the domestic market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5859/11]
I am discussing with Enterprise Ireland how its programmes could be better adapted to help small and medium enterprises to develop export opportunities. The programme for Government includes proposals to have a better system to allow foreign buyers easily source Irish products and to help companies now operating principally in the home market to launch into exporting.
There are a number of programmes offered by Enterprise Ireland and some small companies would be in a position to avail of them. The focus of the agency is very much on high potential start-ups, of which 80 were developed last year. At a lower level the county and city enterprise boards support micro-enterprises that operate on a smaller scale but which would still include exporting opportunities.
Enterprise Ireland offers a number of supports to assist companies explore new export opportunities such as the "going global fund" and "Graduates 4 International Growth" which places graduates in small companies with the opportunity to expand. It has an international selling programme and developed a series of workshops entitled, "Excel at Export Selling", which helps companies to break into markets for the first time. It also offers its overseas office network which is located in 31 cities throughout the world and is developing business mentors to work with companies that have the capacity to export.
There is scope to build on the initiatives already in place in order that a more coherent programme is developed to have a wider range of companies targeting the export market at a time of depressed domestic demand.
The Government has put many of its chips on the export market which, unfortunately, is heavily reliant on foreign direct investment. There are 250,000 small businesses in the State, yet we have only 80 high potential start-ups developed by Enterprise Ireland, an extremely limited number. Most small businesses engage at county enterprise board level, yet there is no county enterprise board export programme operating throughout the State. There is a small number of boards that are progressive enough to offer small businesses the opportunity to do so. There has been an historic view that one needs to master the local economy before one can begin to export, but obviously there is no local economy for many people. What plans does the Government have to create a focused, financed programme to help these small county enterprise board businesses?
We are proposing the creation of a €100 million micro-enterprise fund that will be aimed specifically at such companies. We hope it will be rolled out in what is a competitive area. It will not only be confined to county enterprise boards, although they could be a feature. There are other useful groups supporting new start-ups such as First Step which is predominantly based in Dublin city but which has now a national mandate. There are opportunities to look at other ways to support them, but we need to make supports more accessible to smaller companies. I want Enterprise Ireland to develop programmes that will be easier to roll out and can be promoted in a business to business support format. I very much admire the Plato Programme that allows existing companies, working in their own free time, to support smaller companies to develop. If we can pump prime that activity, we can add much value without having to commit huge funds that clearly are not available. I share the Deputy's eagerness to see development in this regard and we will be working to see how we can develop an effective package to help these companies.
38 Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Enterprise; Trade and Innovation the way the co-operative model will be promoted; the way he will ensure a level playing field between co-operatives and the other legal options for structuring enterprise activities; when he will establish the constructive framework for the realisation of the potential of the sector as per the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5873/11]
The co-operative model is one of a number of legal options available to those considering establishing themselves in business and the different models have their own distinct characteristics. It is, of course, up to each individual operation to choose the model that best suits the nature of the business and the desired ethos of the entity.
The Department issued a consultation paper on the legislation that governs the majority of co-operatives in Ireland, the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts, inviting interested parties to submit proposals for the changes to the legislation that they considered necessary to address issues causing difficulty for the effective operation of the co-operative model. On foot of this consultation process, I intend to bring proposals to the Government shortly providing for a number of amendments to the current legislation which will address the immediate difficulties raised by the sector. I expect that these amendments will make the co-operative model more attractive for those wishing to use it.
The direct promotion of co-operatives is a matter for the co-operative movement. It is ably done by the three main umbrella groups for co-operatives, namely, the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society which developed predominantly in the dairy industry but has branched out to the wider food, agribusiness and rural sectors in Ireland, the National Association of Building Co-operatives which deals with housing co-operatives and the National Federation of Group Water Schemes which deals with group water schemes. In addition, I propose to engage with the co-operative sector on its plans to promote the particular benefits of the co-operative model to a wider audience, as it will come to the fore in 2012 which has been designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Co-operatives.
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.
