Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 June 2012
32 Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his plans in relation to improving employment in the digital, apps and on-line games sector; the liaisons that he has had with the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27526/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraA study published in October 2011 by Forfás entitled "The Games Sector in Ireland: An Action Plan for Growth” states that employment in the games sector had increased five fold to 2,500 since 2004. The report estimates that employment in the sector could double by the end of 2014 if appropriate action is taken to support the sector in Ireland. The actions that Forfás has set out are critical enablers, not only for the games sector, but also have a much broader application across all enterprises operating in the wider digital economy. The analysis also reveals a number of challenges that remind us that while potential is there, growth is not assured, and we need to take actions to ensure that this sector will continue to thrive here.
In order to build upon the Forfás study, the whole of Government has committed, through its Action Plan for Jobs, to exploit the opportunities offered by the digital games sector and to address the challenges posed in this regard. The Action Plan outlines a number of Actions that will be implemented in the latter half of this year. These include providing a clear commitment to:
Establish, by mid year, a Clustering Development Team to support the implementation of actions called for in the Forfás Games Strategy. The membership of this team is currently being finalised and it is intended that the Team will hold their first meeting shortly;
Convene an R&D supports workshop to promote awareness about available R&D supports and issue an enterprise friendly guide on R&D tax credits to include examples of relevance to games companies;
Support industry in working with third level institutions to introduce a pilot game development/publishing "hothouse" initiative for undergraduate and Post Leaving Certificate courses. The initiative will bring together, in multi disciplinary teams, students from games, multimedia and animation courses (from a range of participating PLC and third level colleges) to work together on a game development project for a defined period. Each of the teams will receive mentor support from industry practitioners;
Undertake a feasibility study to examine what structures and policies could be developed to make Ireland a world centre for managing and trading in intellectual property;
Compilation of the report of the Copyright Review Committee on barriers to innovation;
Assess the case for a new financial instrument/relief to incentivise creative content development; and,
Progress measures in relation to Next Generation Broadband.
Progress in implementing these actions will be monitored on a quarterly basis.
