Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 July 2018
359. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the degree to which business expansion can rely on innovation as a means of improving efficiency and competitiveness in the global marketplace; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30997/18]
View answer367. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the degree to which innovation remains an integral part of Ireland's campaign to maximise its industrial impact in terms of effective trading, efficiency and modernisation with particular reference to competing on EU and world markets; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31006/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 359 and 367 together.
Enterprise Ireland drives innovation in Irish industry by developing in-company capabilities and by leveraging all external assets, such as the higher education system, the investor community, the Foreign Direct Investment Multinational base and international funding/expertise to support company innovations.
Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) are essential components in a company’s ability to maintain a competitive edge in global markets. Supporting research and innovation will therefore continue to remain an integral part of Ireland’s campaign to maximise impact in EU and global markets. Enterprise Ireland’s support for research, development and innovation involves helping companies improve their competitiveness through the development of new processes, products or services or by modernising and adapting current processes, products or services to bring them to a standard that will allow the company to enter new and existing markets internationally.
Enterprise Ireland's core objective is to help companies start, grow, innovate and win export sales in global markets and there are financial and non-financial supports available at every stage of that journey to the point where companies are in a position to export to new markets. Enterprise Ireland supported clients have grown and achieved total exports of over €21bn per annum and achieved the benefits of same such as increased profits and company growth. Enterprise Ireland’s strategic aim is to increase this figure to €26bn per annum by 2020.
In terms of innovation, more specifically, Enterprise Ireland supports and de-risks RDI by supporting companies to do RDI in-house, by supporting collaboration with Higher Education Institutions (HEIs); or by sourcing/licensing new technologies from HEIs which can provide a step change in their innovative capabilities. At the same time Enterprise Ireland has supports in place to help companies maximise the funding they can receive from the European Union through programmes such as Horizon 2020. These supports all help new and existing companies to develop new and improved products and services which serve as the basis for sustainable economic growth.
Brexit is forcing Irish companies employ RDI in a bid to protect their current exports in the UK and to explore different markets and innovation will continue to play a central role in this regard. Enterprise Ireland’s annual business results survey shows that companies that invest in innovation are higher performing in terms of employment, export sales and are more sustainable through recessionary and other economic shocks such as Brexit. It is essential that Irish companies produce products and services that are more novel than their competitors, better performing, more efficiently delivered, and cost effective for their customers.
There are a wide range of Enterprise Ireland RD&I Programmes available to companies and they all contribute hugely to company development, growth and expansion, some of which are outlined below:
In Company RD&I
In Company RD&I supports the development of new or substantially improved products, services or processes which will have a competitive advantage in their target market. The Agile Innovation Fund launched in Quarter 4 2017 now facilitates fast track approval of such awards.
Commercialisation Fund
The Commercialisation Fund is aimed at improving the competitiveness of Irish industry through both the creation of technology-based companies and through the development of licenses. It 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.
Innovation Vouchers
The Innovation Voucher initiative provides vouchers worth €5,000 to small businesses to introduce them to research, development and innovation, linking them with a network of knowledge providers, North and South of the border.
Innovation Partnerships
The Innovation Partnership programme helps industry to engage in collaborative research projects with Irish universities and Institutes of Technology to develop new products and services.
Technology Gateways
The Technology Gateway Programme provides Business Development resources to the Institutes of Technology to help them interact with industry on a local, regional and national basis.
Technology Centres
Technology Centres are organised to respond rapidly to industry defined needs and conduct market-relevant R&D in partnership with collaborating groups of companies.
Campus Incubators
Enterprise Ireland funding has supported the development of a national network of business innovation centres and specialist bio-incubation facilities. Incubators now exist on every university and Institute of Technology Campus in the country. Such facilities are internationally recognised as an important element of public assistance for technology intensive start-ups. They are also an important driver of regional development with the majority of companies remaining in their region after they have completed their incubation period.
EU Funding
Enterprise Ireland continues to lead the Horizon 2020 National Support Network in order to secure as much Irish engagement with this funding programme as possible. This assistance available from the European Union for new enterprises, is the instrument which supports collaborative R&D in Europe and provides an important source of non-exchequer funding for companies. Irish companies that compete successfully for funding from Horizon 2020 will boost their innovative capability and competitiveness which in turn will deliver strong national economic impacts, including job creation, exports and sales.
The Horizon 2020 SME Instrument is available and is specifically for single or groups of highly innovative SMEs with international ambitions, determined to turn strong, innovative business ideas into winners on the market. The instrument provides full-cycle business innovation support from the stage of business idea conception and planning over business plan execution and demonstration to commercialisation.
The research and innovation supports provided by Enterprise Ireland and other agencies of my Department will be complemented by the Government’s new €500 million Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund . This new Fund is specifically targeted at game-changing innovations that will have a significant impact on the ability of companies in Ireland to compete in global markets. Expressions of Interest are now invited from consortia wishing to apply for funding under this new Fund. The type of projects that will receive funding will be:
- Collaborative enterprise-driven partnerships that will develop, deploy and commercialise disruptive technologies to transform business;
- Impactful projects focused on “industrial research” and seeking at least €1 million in funding over 3 years and involving enterprises and research partners;
- Projects with at least one SME partner – this is an essential requirement in every consortium.
