Address by Mr. Noel Treacy, T.D.,Minister for Science, Technology and Commerceat the Regional Innovation Conference for the Shannon Region,on Friday 9th June, 2000 at 11.00 a.m.in the Castletroy Park Hotel, Limerick

I am delighted to have been invited here today, to address this Regional Innovation Conference, for the Shannon Region and to hear of the experience of the Shannon Region, in developing a Regional Innovation Strategy.

This Regional Innovation Strategy is a product of new thinking about Innovation at European level. Already this morning, you have heard from previous speakers about a European Programme for Innovation, and how ideas about stimulating Innovation in the Regions are influencing the way that we now promote development in many parts of Europe, which I will speak about later.

I would like briefly, to outline some Research, Technological Development and Innovation Initiatives - or RTDI for short - that are currently being developed here at National level by us.

Ireland is in the process of becoming an advanced and high-waged economy. Continuing and increasing investment in innovation through enlightened public and private partnerships will be crucial to ensure, that we can continue this advance. We need to build the RTDI capability of this country and to strengthen the Irish industrial performance, such that Ireland makes a major contribution to European economic development.

To achieve this objective, we will, over the next seven years, invest substantially in the RTDI base of this country. As Minister for Science, Technology and Commerce, I am particularly delighted that our Government has provided £1.95 Billion in our National Plan, for RTDI activities, across all Government Departments and Agencies.

Some £1.2 Billion is being provided specifically for RTDI for industrial development related activities.

This money will be used as a means of enhancing Innovation and Competitiveness, in order to increase output and employment. The £1.2 Billion for RTDI in support of industrial development will finance a number of Schemes, under three broad headings;

Firstly, there will be Schemes to support in-company R&D efforts such as:

• the R&D Capability Scheme, which will support large scale investments, building up the R&D infrastructure (human and capital) within new and existing firms;

• the Competitive RTI Scheme, which will support companies with high quality speculative R&D projects, on a competitive basis; and

• the Innovation Management Capability Scheme, which will support SME’s achieve greater returns on their R&D investments, by the provision of training and consultancy in R& D management. Secondly, under the heading of RTI Collaboration, there will be an emphasis on collaborative research networks, within two measures:

• to build partnerships, that enhance company capability and competitiveness in SME’s, through collaboration networks nationally; and

• to help SME’s, to exploit technology effectively, by improving access to appropriate technology, internationally.

Finally, we will seek to harness the regional and national technological infrastructure, to help existing firms grow and to influence the rate at which new enterprises are set up. We will use a two-pronged strategy, to achieve this.

The first of these is the £560 Million Technology Foresight Fund that the Tánaiste and I announced last March. This is the largest single investment which this country has ever made in research and development.

This Fund, which will be managed by a dedicated Research Foundation, under the aegis of Forfás, is a key component of this Government’s Industrial Development Strategy and the size of the investment, reflects the increasingly important link, between technological development and economic growth.

The new Fund will be used to invest in research excellence, in niche areas of ICT and biotechnology, with a view to underpinning national competitiveness, in the longer term. I am happy to report that progress on establishing the Technology Foresight Foundation, is proceeding well and a high level Advisory Group, set up to advise on the arrangements necessary, to ensure the smooth launch of the Foundation, are due to report back to the Tánaiste and myself, over the next month. It is envisaged that the new Foundation will issue its first call for proposals by the Autumn.

The second infrastructural action, that this Government will be introducing in support of industry, is very relevant to today’s Conference – namely the Regional Innovation Systems Measure. We have allocated Funding of £35 Million, during the period of the National Development Plan, for regional innovation systems proposals from all of the regions.

I anticipate that proposals will emerge from the regions, capitalising on their particular technological resources and challenges. This "bottom up" approach will be actively encouraged to ensure Local involvement and commitment.

I am pleased to say that since 1997, the Shannon Region has been ahead of the posse, in mobilising regional sources of innovation. This Region has been the only Irish participant in a European Programme of "Regional Innovation Strategies", which sought to unlock regional innovation potential, focusing on building partnerships and collaboration between key players in this region.

The approach to regional innovation in the Shannon Region has been highly inclusive and consultative, involving over 100 people and key decision-makers. Shannon Development managed the Project and the Steering Group embraced many bodies, such as the University of Limerick, the Limerick Institute of Technology, the Institute of Technology Tralee, Teagasc, the Mid West Regional Authority, the County and City Enterprise Boards, FÁS, IDA and Forfás. The Private Sector input was vital to the outcome of the exercise.

I warmly welcome the active involvement of the Limerick Chamber of Commerce, IBEC and the Limerick Trades Council as supporters of this very important project.

A key ingredient has been the strong Leadership shown, by the Chairman of the Steering Group, Mr. Pat Shanahan, Managing Director of Tellabs Ltd. Mr. Shanahan has devoted much of his valuable time and talents, to guiding this exercise and the progress made, as exemplified by this Conference, is testimony to his great commitment and energy. On behalf of everybody here, I would like to extend our warmest thanks and gratitude to Pat, for his excellent contribution.

I understand this Consultative exercise, threw up some important conclusions, in a number of areas and helped to build a clear consensus on the new regional strategies required, to promote innovation here. This Project has now moved into the active implementation phase, with a number of Implementation teams working on specific tasks. Shannon Development is managing these innovation-supporting projects, with the active participation of more than 30 people, from organisations in this region - such as the University of Limerick, Limerick Institute of Technology, Institute of Technology Tralee, Mary Immaculate College, Tipperary Rural & Business Development Institute, FÁS, the County and City Enterprise Boards and various other bodies. This has been the real benefit of this regional innovation strategy to this region, mobilising so many people and so much resources, in a targeted drive, directly relevant to the real innovation needs of this regional community.

To conclude, I want to commend the Shannon Region for the way, that it has brought together the expertise of the many different players in this Region’s innovation system, to develop a strategy for the Shannon Region. I am confident that the many initiatives available, under our National Development Plan, will allow the innovative capacity of this region, to grow over the coming years. I know that this region’s commitment to partnership, between the players in the innovation system will continue and will play a major part in developing an environment, where firms can exploit the many advantages of being located in this wonderful region.

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