Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 April 2014
305. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the role he sees for job creation through innovation, science and technology in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18081/14]
View answerThe importance of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) to Ireland is recognised by the Government as being crucial to growth in our indigenous and FDI sectors and plays a key role in job creation. The Government’s overarching aim is to accelerate both the economic and societal return on our public investment in STI. In this context, the implementation of Research Prioritisation, underway since March 2012, is seeing the majority of public research funding aligned with 14 priority areas, where we are most likely to get economic and societal returns, particularly in the form of jobs.
In line with Research Prioritisation, in June 2012 an IP Protocol was published outlining new structures to encourage more businesses to commercialise R&D by ensuring that they can access the results of state-funded R&D with greater clarity and certainty. A key initiative linked to the IP Protocol is the new central Technology Transfer Office (cTTO) located in Enterprise Ireland, which is providing a crucial interface between industry and the research community and is helping to drive a world-class technology transfer system in Ireland, ensuring it is responsive to the needs of both academia and enterprise. Furthermore, the remit of Science Foundation Ireland has recently been expanded to cover applied research, aligned with the 14 priority areas to further support the development of research findings into commercial opportunities, further enhancing our job creation potential.
In 2013, SFI had links to 41% (2,618) of 6,449 jobs (90 company announcements) announced by the IDA in all fields. Indeed, in 2013 of 164 foreign direct investments in Ireland, 27 were in Research, Development and Innovation, activities that are central to productivity and new business development in Ireland’s multinational sector. Moreover, the recently modified R&D Tax Credit scheme continues to encourage businesses to invest in research and development.
We have a well-established reputation in Ireland for having an environment conducive to doing business and to supporting job creation. We have been extremely successful in targeting FDI which has catalysed industrialisation, the expansion of exports and has helped to diversify economic activity. As a Government, we are accelerating the re-balancing of the economy towards internationally competitive, export-oriented sectors that can generate further employment and earnings, and we are striving to remove any remaining barriers to growth and employment creation in those sectors most capable of strong expansion.
Export-led growth is essential for a sustainable economic recovery and measures designed to support industry growth are set out in the most recent Action Plan for Jobs 2014, which includes a dedicated section on ‘Research and Innovation to Drive Job Creation’. Actions include consolidating and building critical mass and international reputation in areas that underpin Ireland’s enterprise base and enhancing fruitful collaborations between enterprises, academia and other public sector bodies to deliver economic and social benefits. With 2014 being designated as the “Year for Jobs”, the Action Plan for Jobs this year continue to focus on competitiveness, winning new markets and new investment overseas and building a strong environment where targeted sectors with potential can grow and create new jobs.
