Innovation 'central' to recovery

An ambitious report by the innovation taskforce appointed by the Government in June last year, was launched this morning by the Taoiseach, Brian Cowen.

The report suggests that at least 117,000 jobs can be created by 2020 if its recommendations are implemented.

Speaking at the launch of the Innovation Ireland report in Trinity College Dublin this morning, Mr Cowen said that the report is of central importance to Ireland's economic renewal.

The Taoiseach said he is confident that economic growth will return later this year, but that Ireland needs to "come through the recession with a capacity to provide our citizens with enhanced opportunities and living standards."

"Restoring Ireland's cost competitiveness and simply waiting or global demand to pick up will not be enough. Innovation, in both the production and use of ideas, technology and processes, across all areas of economic activity is crucial because it drives productivity growth, and, consequently, economic growth."

The aim of the report is that by 2020 Ireland was have a "significant number of large, world leading, innovation-intensive companies, each having a global footprint, many of which are Irish headquartered and owned."

According to the report, Ireland can rebrand itself as an "international, innovation hub".

The report presents a series of recommendations to achieve this.

These include:

• A more efficient and effective approach to identifying and accessing intellectual property arising from public research investment

• A development of a national IP protocol

• The creation of a national portfolio of Business Angel funds, the attraction of new investment and embed existing FDI, increasing R & D and innovation capabilities

• The creation of placement schemes in companies for both graduate and undergraduates

• Marketing Ireland as a leading innovation location and destination of choice for European and other overseas investors

No specific details of the costs involved for each recommendation were contained in the report, although the report did give an "indicative Exchequer cost" which classified the costs into three categories - cost-neutral, low-cost and high-cost.

In terms of a time-scale implementation, each recommendation was accompanied by one of four “timeline” indications – “immediate”, which indicates that action should be taken within three months, “short-term” which refers to an implementation period of less than a year, “medium-term” which indicates a time-frame of one to two years, and 'long-term' which suggests over two years.

The report states that regular reports on the progress of the implementation of the recommendations should be prepared for consideration by the Government and published.