Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 March 2012
276 Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the amount awarded to business through the Enterprise Ireland research and development fund and small projects for each of the past five years. [16643/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra277 Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of applications made, and the number of applications awarded support under the Enterprise Ireland research and development fund and small projects for each of the past five years. [16644/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra278 Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of successful applications by county to the Enterprise Ireland research and development and small projects for each of the past three years. [16645/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 276 to 278, inclusive, together.
The information sought in relation to Enterprise Ireland research and development and small projects, is taken to refer to Enterprise Ireland's support for in-company Research and Development under the R&D Fund.
The total amount approved under Enterprise Ireland's in-company R&D project support funds for each of the past five years is summarised in table 1 below:
|
Year |
In-company R&D project approvals |
|
2007 |
€19,897,785.52 |
|
2008 |
€23,183,862.23 |
|
2009 |
€23,499,605.50 |
|
2010 |
€15,755,588.00 |
|
2011 |
€17,016,537.00 |
The total number of applications made under Enterprise Ireland's in-company R&D project support funds for each of the past five years is summarised in table 2 below:
|
Year |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
|
Number of Applications |
121 |
128 |
138 |
108 |
112 |
The total number of applications approved under Enterprise Ireland's in-company R&D project support funds for each of the past five years is summarised in table 3 below:
|
Year |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
|
Number of Approvals |
95 |
104 |
133 |
96 |
104 |
The total number of approvals made under Enterprise Ireland's in-company R&D project support funds for each of the past three years by county is summarised in table 4 below.
|
No. of Approvals by County |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
|
Carlow |
3 |
3 |
|
|
Cavan |
5 |
2 |
6 |
|
Clare |
5 |
1 |
1 |
|
Cork |
20 |
11 |
14 |
|
Donegal |
3 |
||
|
Dublin |
41 |
39 |
36 |
|
Galway |
6 |
2 |
7 |
|
Kerry |
1 |
2 |
4 |
|
Kildare |
2 |
3 |
2 |
|
Kilkenny |
5 |
2 |
1 |
|
Laois |
1 |
1 |
4 |
|
Leitrim |
1 |
||
|
Limerick |
6 |
9 |
1 |
|
Longford |
1 |
5 |
|
|
Louth |
1 |
4 |
|
|
Mayo |
7 |
1 |
|
|
Meath |
3 |
1 |
4 |
|
Monaghan |
4 |
1 |
2 |
|
Offaly |
6 |
||
|
Roscommon |
1 |
2 |
|
|
Sligo |
4 |
3 |
|
|
Tipperary |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|
Waterford |
1 |
||
|
Westmeath |
1 |
2 |
|
|
Wexford |
2 |
4 |
2 |
|
Wicklow |
5 |
4 |
7 |
279 Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will detail the investments made by the Innovation Fund Ireland for each of the years since its establishment. [16679/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra280 Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will detail the investments made by Enterprise Ireland and investments made by the NPRF as part of the Innovation Fund Ireland for each of the years since its establishment. [16680/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 279 and 280 together.
The establishment of Innovation Fund Ireland was formally announced on 12th July 2010 and a call for "expressions of interest" was made in September 2010.
The €250m Fund is currently operating along two parallel tracks. The €125m provided by the Exchequer is managed by Enterprise Ireland (EI). Successful applicants who receive an investment from EI have to commit to investing an equivalent amount in Irish companies or companies with substantial Irish operations over the lifetime of their fund. The second is for a similar amount, and is designed to allow Ireland's National Pension Reserve Fund (NPRF) to make a similar level of commercial investments assuming its criteria are met.
The Board of Enterprise Ireland approved three commitments under Call 1 to three venture capital managers. On 15th March last, I announced the first investment by Enterprise Ireland under the programme in Sofinnova Ventures. Sofinnova Ventures is one of the premier US healthcare venture capital funds, recently raising their eighth fund, a $440M vehicle focused solely on life sciences, and the fund will be establishing a presence in the Irish market. Enterprise Ireland has committed $25 million to the Fund, alongside a commitment of $12.5 million by the National Pensions Reserve Fund.
As well as its investment in Sofinnova Ventures, the NPRF have made three other investments. The first investments were in DJF and DFJ Esprit resulting in a partner being hired on the ground in Ireland to invest in Irish companies. The other investment was in Polaris who have recently established Dog Patch Labs in Ireland — opened by An Taoiseach on 29 September 29 2011.
On 16th March, I announced a second call from Innovation Fund Ireland. The Government, through Enterprise Ireland, will look to commit a total of more than €60 million in venture capital funds which establish a presence in Ireland. The announcement of a second call represents the delivery of a major Q1 commitment in Action Plan for Jobs 2012.
