Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 January 2023
158. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the capital, current and total budget 2022 allocation for the National Smart Specialisation Strategy for Innovation 2022-2027; the percentage difference compared to the budget 2023 allocation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4479/23]
View answerSmart Specialisation is an innovation policy concept developed by the European Commission which aims to boost regional innovation, contributing to growth and prosperity by helping and enabling regions to focus on their strengths.
While Smart Specialisation involves radical innovation, it also involves innovating in traditional fields, through developing and applying new business or organisational models, and adapting or exploiting innovations deriving from tacit knowledge and experience in these areas.
The preparation of Ireland’s National Smart Specialisation Strategy for Innovation 2022-2027 (S3) was an essential prerequisite for Ireland to access European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) moneys under Policy Objective One: A Smarter Europe, through innovation, digitisation, economic transformation and support to small and medium-sized businesses.
Ireland’s total allocation under the 2021-2027 programming period of the ERDF is €396 million, of which more than €200 million will be allocated to programmes which support innovative and smart economic transformation under Policy Objective One. This will be supported by national co-financing, rendering the total amount available for Ireland under the ERDF at €853 million. This funding is new and additional to exchequer allocations for mainstream programmes.
My Department will deliver four programmes supported by ERDF under Policy Objective One: A Smarter Europe, that are aligned with S3. These are: Technology Gateways; Technology Transfer 'KT Boost'; Needs-led Innovation Training; and Smart Regional Enterprise Innovation. ERDF will also support Research, development, integration and innovation and Accelerating Research Commercialisation (ARC) labs through the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, and these are also of relevance to S3 delivery.
Ireland's ERDF regional programmes were adopted by the Commission in 18th November 2022, and the first annual budgetary allocations towards the relevant DETE Schemes were made in 2023. The total capital allocation for 2023 is €17.109 million, across the four programmes administered by Enterprise Ireland. The administration aspect of these schemes is managed by Enterprise Ireland's general current funding and is not accounted for separately.
The design of these four DETE programmes are informed by Ireland's S3 and will include programmes to: bridge the knowledge transfer gap between industry and academia; provide dedicated staff to the Technological Universities who work with industry to articulate company problems in a manner that can be addressed by the established expert base in each Technological University; build on existing international and national best practice in immersive-based, needs-led innovation training programmes connecting on multiple levels with the industry sector clusters in a particular region; and to address regional innovation ecosystem gaps, informed by the work of the Regional Enterprise Plans.
I am keen to get this funding under these Schemes out to the regions as soon as possible and my officials are working with Enterprise Ireland on their development and roll-out.
Finally, it should also be noted that Ireland's Smart Specialisation Strategy will also inform continued roll-out of a range of frameworks and programmes already in place in my Department.
