Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 May 2019
250. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which she has identified that science and technology will remain an integral part of business promotion and job creation in the short and medium terms; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20888/19]
View answerInvestment in innovation is an essential component in developing the economic and social infrastructure necessary to ensure a resilient and competitive enterprise base and in addressing many societal challenges.
The key mission of Enterprise Ireland, our indigenous enterprise development agency, is to assist growth in exports from Irish owned companies which in turn results in the growth of the Irish economy and job creation.
Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) is an integral part of any business that has an ambition to grow and expand. Investing in RDI enables companies improve their competitiveness by developing new processes, products or services, maintain a competitive edge in the market and increase output.
Enterprise Ireland supports and de-risks research, development and innovation primarily through supporting companies to carry out RDI in-house. These supports help companies develop new and improved products and services which serve as the basis for sustainable economic growth.
It is estimated that investment in RDI by business accounted for over 70% of Ireland’s gross expenditure on RDI in 2017. A very significant part of public policy has been to align our efforts in a manner that maximises the capacity to leverage RDI activity in the enterprise sectors. We are frequently cited as one of the most R&D-effective countries in the EU, maximising innovation output per euro of public funding.
My Department and my colleagues across Government are committed to investment in RDI in order to ensure sustainable economic growth, resilient businesses and the creation of high value jobs. This is demonstrated in all recent Government policies, including Innovation 2020, Enterprise 2025 Renewed and the National Development Plan under Project 2040.
In the Government's most recent policy document, Future Jobs Ireland 2019 (FJI), embracing innovation and technological change is one of the five key pillars to ensure that we are resilient and prepared for future challenges and opportunities.
We must prepare now so that our enterprises and people are ready to exploit opportunities. Through FJI, we will encourage greater investment by enterprises in RDI. We want Ireland to be at the frontier of technological developments by rapidly adopting new technologies to boost productivity and ensure that Ireland continues to be competitive internationally. To do this we must enable and encourage innovation across sectors and firms. Work must also be done to increase the absorptive capacity and new ways of working across all types of business, and particularly within Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
Some of the ways we will deliver on the ambitions for embracing innovation and technological change in FJI include:
- implementing the projects awarded funding under the first call of the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund and issuing a further call for Expressions of Interest;
- implementing an Industry 4.0 strategy and developing a National Digital Strategy and a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy;
- assisting SMEs through the temporary injection of expertise through RD&I placement programmes;
- supporting businesses to invest in and exploit new and existing technologies and business process improvements; and
- strengthening linkages between indigenous SMEs, multi national enterprises and higher education institutes to support knowledge spillovers, collaborative working and information sharing.
Science and technology are also key considerations throughout the skills and talent pillar of FJI, which focuses on enabling all of Ireland’s workers to upskill and to participate in lifelong learning to enhance and maintain productivity and to prepare for technological disruption. It also ensures that relevant and up-to-date courses, particularly in emerging technologies, are offered by Ireland’s education and training providers to meet the needs of enterprises and workers.
