Call for action on innovation plan

IRELAND WILL lose out to competitor economies if the Government does not implement the recommendations of the Innovation Taskforce quickly, a member of the committee said yesterday.

Lionel Alexander, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland, said the Government needed to act fast or it risked missing out on future opportunities.

“As a member of the Innovation Taskforce I do not want our report to be left on the shelf gathering dust like so many before it,” he said. “I am calling on the Government to put its cards on the table and to outline how and when it plans to implement the recommendations of the taskforce.”

The taskforce’s report, published last month, contained several recommendations, including a more efficient and effective approach to identifying and accessing intellectual property arising from public research investment; the development of a national intellectual property protocol; and the creation of placement schemes in companies for graduates and undergraduates.

“We have to put the public finances in order. That is a given and will require painful adjustment by both the public and private sectors. But we also have to show that our desire to be an innovation-led smart economy is not empty rhetoric,” said Mr Alexander. “Investors must see that the Government is implementing the measures recommended by the Innovation Taskforce and others.”

The report said some 117,000 jobs could be created by 2020 if the recommendations are implemented.