I thank the committee for the invitation to appear before it today. I am very pleased to be here to discuss my role as Minister of State with responsibility for research and innovation. I am accompanied by Mr. Michael Davitt, assistant principal officer, Mr. Martin Shanagher, assistant secretary, Ms Anne Forde, principal officer, and Ms Helen Nugent, Ms Gráinne O'Carroll, Ms Patricia Timmins and Ms Anne O'Mahony.
Members of this committee will be aware that the Government has set job creation and retention as one of its key priorities in the programme for Government. In this context, the concept of supporting enterprise and promoting business innovation goes to the heart of what we are doing as a Government. We will seek, and we will succeed, in our efforts to provide a better future for our young people, for our society and for Irish business by creating a climate in which entrepreneurs can do business, business can flourish and trade can grow. Our objective in Government is clear. We are encouraging the renewal of a sustainable economy by putting in place supportive enterprise policies and investments aligned to deliver a return of sustainable jobs. A key element of these policies is the research and innovation initiative. It is a central priority at the core of my Department's efforts and that of the enterprise State agencies under the auspices of my Department.
Our exports are performing well and leading recovery. In June 2011, exports were up 5.6% to €8.343 billion on June 2010. The €4 billion trade surplus in June was the highest ever. This feeds through to the domestic economy as exporting companies grow and increase their trade with suppliers. Investment in science, technology and innovation is directly linked to growth in sales and exports. From 2000 to 2009, exports from El and IDA firms that were research and development performers grew from €44 billion to €87 billion while exports from non-performers fell from €48 billion to €39 billion. Research and development and innovation has evolved to become a key driver of business success.
I would like to outline the areas of focus within my brief as Minister of State with responsibility for research and innovation. They are supporting the agenda for research, development and innovation and ensuring it is a strong driver of growth; prioritising public investment in research, development and innovation so we obtain the greatest possible return on our investment in terms of jobs, new intellectual property and technologies; winning more FDI investment and getting enhanced technologies and ideas rapidly from research to companies that will commercialise them; and ensuring that our education system is lining up the skills and expertise needed for the future. Our emerging workforce will need skills in science, technology, engineering and maths and these skills must be fostered from the early days of school life.
I strongly welcome the fact that our cost base is improving to enhance our competitiveness but cost reduction is only part of the answer. If we are to compete and be successful in the challenging and competitive trade environment in which we operate, Ireland must become both a high productivity and high innovation economy. We must have top-class research and innovation and embed it in our enterprise because this is a sure-fire way for Irish companies to acquire a competitive advantage in national and international trade.
As a country, we have trebled the level of investment in research and development. We strongly support enterprises to do more research and development. We have invested in human capital, in top quality researchers and third and fourth level education. We have now got excellent physical research infrastructure in place and the structures to commercialise research. This public investment has accelerated the creation and application of new knowledge and technologies, has contributed significantly to the competitiveness of indigenous enterprise and has played a large part in attracting increases in foreign direct investment.
The three enterprise agencies, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland, are working together in a coherent and complementary way under the direction of my Department to support the development of an innovative and vibrant enterprise sector. I will briefly touch on the role being played by a number of agencies in implementing and underpinning Government policies in this area.
Through Enterprise Ireland we are working to enhance the capacity of indigenous enterprise to develop new products and services, we are building research development and innovation capacity within companies to create competitive advantage, we are providing support to commercialise research ideas and we are developing and fostering links with the third-level research base.
Enterprise Ireland's goal is to grow the capacity of Irish companies so that both domestic activity and exports can expand, create wealth and increase jobs. Enterprise Ireland client companies exported €14 billion in 2010, which was a 10% increase on 2009. New export sales totalled a record €1,945 million, with growth in all major sectors. During 2010, El approved funding to 1,070 companies, supported 80 new innovative start-up enterprises, and financial support was approved for significant research and development projects, that is a grant in excess of €100,000, for 860 client companies. In 2010, 8,193 new jobs were created in El supported companies, bringing the total number employed in these companies to 137,000.
With the goal of getting existing companies involved in research and innovation and of developing new innovative companies, a number of strategic programmes are offered by Enterprise Ireland. The high potential start-up scheme provides supports and funds for start-up companies and entrepreneurs through investment in equity. The target is to increase the number of new companies created to 100 per annum by 2013. The initiative to transform research and development activity in enterprise fosters and supports the growth of research and development capabilities needed by an enterprise to grow, develop and trade. Through industry collaboration programmes, companies are linked with third level researchers and get them working together for the benefit of industry. The commercialisation of a research programme provides funds to bring an already developed research idea to a point where it can be transferred to the market place.
Through the IDA we are continuing to attract high quality foreign direct investment projects to Ireland and embed existing FDI companies in the Irish economy. Half the FDI wins are now research and innovation projects; in 2010 there were 37 investments, worth around €500 million. The IDA is focused on winning new investments, in particular in sectors such as life sciences, including pharma, biopharma and medical devices, ICT and financial services.
Foreign direct investment has been hugely important for the Irish economy and job creation over the last 30 years. The IDA supported FDI sector alone accounts for around 240,000 jobs in the economy or 13% of the labour force. Research, development and innovation plays its strategic role as part of Ireland's FDI landscape embedding existing employment and setting the groundwork for increased future employment. In overall terms, IDA and Enterprise Ireland client companies directly accounted for the employment of approximately 300,000 people in the Irish economy. These companies also supported an estimated additional 300,000 indirect jobs.
Through Science Foundation Ireland we are continuing to foster top-class research and develop and make Ireland into an attractive option for researchers and firms seeking to conduct world-class scientific research. In ten years, Ireland has moved from Third World status into the world's top 20 countries based on quality of research output. Science Foundation Ireland activities are undertaken because the long-term competitiveness of enterprise can only be successfully built upon a base of top-class national research.
Much of the focus of SFI is directed to strengthen connections between researchers and industry. This is achieved through the centres for science, engineering and technology - CSETs - and strategic research clusters - SRCs. SFI currently supports nine CSETs and 19 SRCs and currently supports over 2,500 research positions directly. CSETs and SRCs help link scientists and engineers in partnerships across academia and industry to address crucial research questions, foster the development of new and existing Irish-based technology companies, and grow partnerships with industry that will make an important contribution to Ireland and its economy.
A substantial impact of the SFI investment is in attracting new foreign direct investment, previously beyond Ireland's reach. Importantly, this also underpins existing jobs. SFI researchers now interact with 534 companies, the majority of whom are IDA and Enterprise Ireland clients based in Ireland.
Although not within my brief as Minister of State with responsibility for research and innovation, I want to speak briefly about the role of county and city enterprise boards in supporting small enterprises. A network of 35 local offices are the primary initial contact point for business start-ups in Ireland. The micro-enterprise support programme assists business start-ups at local level. Exchequer funding of €27 million was provided for the CEB network at the start of 2011 and an extra €3.1 million was recently provided to fund further job creation projects, a necessary investment in the current economic situation. A number of other areas of activity such as the programme for research in third level institutions and the work to enhance maths and science literacy have an important bearing on the future for the enterprise sector, for which I have responsibility.
PRTLI is an enabling investment, putting in place the bedrock of national research capacity in the higher education sector. This includes top-class research infrastructure, namely, buildings, laboratories and cutting edge equipment, including national shared facilities and structured PhD programmes. It is about providing appropriate top-class facilities for Ireland's research community while also providing training and education opportunities for our next generation of scientists. It will significantly contribute to the Government's goal of developing the capacity and capability of the higher education institutions to carry out high quality research across various fields of strategic national importance. The €359 million investment under PRTLI will stimulate our economy and is an investment in the future.
On science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM, I am working in a cross-departmental role with the Departments of Education and Skills and Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to enhance science and maths literacy and to up-skill our emerging workforce for the skills needs of the future. We must ensure that graduates in science, technology, engineering and maths have the relevant skills that are applicable in the current employment market. While the latest OECD data shows that, on average, the number of science graduates in Ireland is higher than other countries, there is need for continued focus. A targeted approach is being taken to bridge the short-term skills gap in ICT graduates identified by the expert group on future skills needs. We will also address the longer-term pipeline issues. The emerging action plan on ICT will be complemented by initiatives to improve the mathematical proficiency of new entrants to higher education, as well as by measures to ensure that the higher education sector responds to the changing skills needs of industry. The promotion of science awareness and careers in science is particularly important if there is to be a steady pipeline of young people equipped to sustain a true knowledge economy.
The Discover Science and Engineering, DSE, programme, an initiative of my Department and Forfás, has undertaken two key initiatives as part of the ongoing campaign to encourage young people to develop an interest in maths and in careers where a high level of competence in maths is required. A major reform in the teaching of maths at primary and post-primary school, Project Maths, is also under way, involving a major curriculum revision, a different approach in the examinations papers and a nationwide programme of education for existing mathematics teachers. From summer 2012, bonus points will be awarded to students who achieve a grade D3 or above in leaving certificate maths in respect of entry to higher education institutes. In addition, the programme for Government contains commitments to reform maths and science teaching at second level, to make science a compulsory junior certificate subject by 2014 and to prioritise professional development for maths and science teachers.
The Government is committed to ensuring that we get the maximum return on public investment in science, technology and innovation. My Department, together with Forfás, is leading a research prioritisationinitiative to identify areas of opportunity with the greatest potential to deliver economic return, with a view to the Government prioritising the public investment in science, technology and innovation to support the real opportunities there. This is chaired by Dr. Jim O'Hara, formerly of Intel. Another planned change is the extension of the remit of Science Foundation Ireland, SFI, to enable it to bring the research it funds closer to market. Work is also well under way on the development of an intellectual property protocol, the objective of which is to establish clear, straightforward ground rules around ownership of and access to all State supported IP, with a view to supporting commercial exploitation of the results of publicly funded research. Clarity and certainty with regard to IP can be another plus in choosing Ireland as a place to do business.
I thank the committee for the opportunity to make this presentation this morning. I assure the committee that the Government is taking a strategic approach to the science, technology and innovation field. I welcome all opportunities to engage with this committee or individuals of it on any aspect of this field. I would argue that it is largely an apolitical space and, as such, the views of all Senators and Deputies will be vital. The more we engage with committees and individual Members, the more proficient we will be in terms of the roll-out of policies in this area. The Government is open to engage with Members on identified needs in this regard. I thank the committee for its time.