Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 January 2019
127. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation her views on the latest findings by the EU Research and Innovation Observatory (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2297/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraInnovation 2020 is Ireland’s whole of Government Strategy for Research and Development, Science and Technology, driven by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation. The Government’s ambition is for Ireland to become a Global Innovation Leader and this is the key vision of the Innovation 2020 Strategy.
The details supplied by the Deputy refer to the recent report published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. The report highlights Ireland’s gross Research & Development (R&D) expenditure as a percentage of GDP compared with other EU member states. Ireland, along with our EU colleagues, signed up to the Europe 2020 Strategy in 2011. Under Europe 2020, Ireland committed to raise gross (public and private) investment in R&D to 2.5% of GNP by 2020. We reiterated this commitment in Innovation 2020. Ireland determined to use GNP as the intensity rate denominator and not GDP due to the effects of foreign owned companies on our economy.
The key Innovation 2020 commitment to increase public and private investment in RDI to 2.5% of GNP by 2020 is challenging and it is unlikely that we will meet this target within the given timeframe.
Since the publication of the Strategy in 2015, direct Exchequer funding of RDI has increased steadily- from €736m in 2015 to an estimated €751.7m in 2018. This is the highest level of public expenditure on RDI since 2012.
However, the Irish economy is experiencing far higher economic growth than most other European countries. This is one of the main reasons for our lack of progress on the RDI intensity rate. In 2018, Ireland’s GDP grew by 7.8%, the fastest in the EU.
It is noted that only four member states have reached their Europe 2020 targets and the EU as a whole remains below its target of 3% of GDP.
The Gross Expenditure on R&D as a percentage of GDP intensity rate of 1.05% of GDP for 2017 from the Eurostat report is calculated using preliminary figures for Business Expenditure on R&D (BERD) and Higher Education Expenditure on R&D (HERD). Surveys on both are currently being compiled and are due to be published later this year from the Central Statistics Office and my Department respectively and will give the full picture on RDI expenditure for 2017.
In October 2018 my Department published the Research & Development Budget 2017-2018 which estimated that GERD as a percentage of GDP was 1.15% in 2017. The figure for the GERD as a percentage of GNP for 2017 was 1.46%.
The report showed that in 2017, the business sector contributed 71% of Ireland’s gross expenditure on RDI, the third highest private investment figure in the EU. 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.
Innovation 2020 recognises that innovation is central to ensuring that our enterprise base is resilient and internationally competitive and a key goal is to increase enterprise engagement in RDI. Under the National Development Plan and as part of Project 2040, the Government launched the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund, or DTIF, in 2018. It is being delivered through the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation and its agencies with a resource allocation of €500 million over the period 2018-2027 consisting of an initial Exchequer allocation of €180 million to 2022. As a first tranche, €20 million will be allocated during 2019, which will leverage the same again in private sector matched funding. 27 projects have been announced from the first tranche of funding, worth €75m to 2021. All projects include collaborations between start-ups, SMEs, multinationals and academic institutions. Every project involves at least one SME and many are led by an SME. Over the next ten years €500 million will be allocated through the fund, which was announced as part of Project Ireland 2040.
In the European Innovation Scoreboard 2018, Ireland remains in the category of “Strong Innovator” and has moved up a place to 9th in the EU. Ireland is placed first in three out of the ten dimensions considered - innovative SMEs, employment in knowledge-intensive activities and sales due to innovation activities. Ireland is ranked higher than 12 other member states that invest a higher amount of public funds as a percentage of GDP. Ireland has also retained 10th place in the Global Innovation Index, out of 126 countries assessed.
