Business research spending passes €1bn for the first time

Business sector research spending nudged for the first time past the €1 billion mark during 2003 according to new figures released by Forfás.

The ratio of business research expenditure to economic activity continues to lag behind the EU average, however, and foreign owned companies accounted for 72 per cent of private sector research investment in 2003.

Forfás released the figures yesterday in its latest report, Business Expenditure on R&D 2003. It showed the business sector here spent €1,076 million on R&D during 2003, compared to €901 million in 2001.

Expenditure increased by about 9.2 per cent over that period. When adjusted for inflation the growth between 2001 and 2003 it amounted to 5.2 per cent, according to the Forfás.

Foreign owned companies were responsible for almost three quarters of the 2003 expenditure. The report also showed that despite the steady growth in private sector investment in R&D, the number of R&D active companies here actually fell by 5.5 per cent over the period.

The ratio of business expenditure on R&D (Berd) to economic activity in 2003 climbed to 0.97 per cent of GNP, up from 0.93 per cent for 2001. This narrows our private sector spending gap with the EU average, estimated at 1.13 per cent in 2003.

The Irish figure lags well behind the OECD average of 1.45 per cent, however, and is even further adrift from the 1.7 per cent target suggested by Government for Ireland's future knowledge-based economy.

Forfás chief executive Martin Cronin welcomed the steady progress being made by Irish R&D based companies. Forfás also indicated that R&D spending continued to increase during 2004, with an estimated annual figure of €1,145 million.