The Government response to the recommendations of the Enterprise Strategy Group on future industrial policy has been lukewarm at best. Minster for Enterprise, Trade, and Employment Micheál Martin has claimed that 70 per cent of the 50 proposals made by the group are being implemented.
But this amounts to little more than the continuance of existing policies in areas such as science and education. In assessing the Government's approach, it is far more instructive to examine the remaining proposals which are only being partially implemented and - in two cases - are not being acted on at all.
These latter recommendations constituted the heart of the report, which was 11 months in the making and billed by its sponsor, Tánaiste Mary Harney, as mapping out the future direction of industrial policy. They contained a number of quite radical policy initiatives, including a significant overhaul of the official agencies involved.
The group wanted all three agencies, IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Forfás, to operate under a common chairman. It also called for the establishment of two new divisions within Enterprise Ireland to focus on export marketing and research and development.
Other measures included incorporating County Enterprise Boards into Enterprise Ireland and twice-yearly Cabinet meetings dedicated to enterprise issues. A standing committee of senior business figures and top civil servants was also to be established.
Instead of running with these ideas, the Government has watered them down and in many cases condemned them to the political equivalent of limbo by promising consultations and pilot studies. A reorganisation of Enterprise Ireland has been announced but such a review was on the cards anyway and falls far short of the proposals put forward by the group.
In the round, the Government response has the look and feel of an attempt to quietly bring closure to a well meaning but fundamentally failed venture. The Enterprise Strategy Group was set up with a clear mandate to "think outside the box" about how Government policy should adapt to meet the competitive challenges that will arise in the coming decade. Unfortunately, its recommendations appear to have been a little too radical for the Government's taste.
But it would be wrong to dismiss the work of the group as a complete waste of time. Its views - in particular on the need to refocus State support on research, development and marketing in Irish-owned firms - will feed into the ongoing and crucial debate about how best to adapt industrial policy.