Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 December 2025
206. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the key measures taken in the area of enterprise innovation during 2025; his priorities for 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73149/25]
View answerIreland’s innovation performance is critical to reinforcing Ireland’s competitiveness in the global economy and driving the climate and digital transition across all sectors, and is a key focus for the Action Plan for Competitiveness and Productivity. It directly impacts on Ireland’s ability to create and maintain a thriving and prosperous economy and grow employment, and is a core part of our national enterprise policy.
In 2025, my Department through Enterprise Ireland (EI) and IDA Ireland, has delivered a wide range of research and innovation supports to drive enterprise innovation amongst our indigenous and foreign-owned companies respectively, operating across all sectors.
Both Agencies published corporate strategies in 2025, and each has placed a key focus on driving firm-level innovation adoption and performance, industry-academic collaboration, and commercialisation of research outputs.
Amongst the key measures supported by my Department and delivered during 2025 are:
• A range of ongoing programmes were delivered throughout the year, including: direct R&D grants to industry, Innovation Vouchers, Innovation Partnerships, the Technology Gateways, the Commercialisation Fund, Knowledge Transfer Boost, and Innovator’s Initiative.
• In February this year, I announced over €12 million in funding for capital equipment to support research and innovation activities in our Technology Gateways and Centres.
• In May 2025, I launched Silicon Island: Ireland’s National Semiconductor Strategy, reinforcing Government commitment to innovation through growth, skills, RD&D, and commercialisation.
• Linked to the Silicon Island strategy, over €70 million in national and EU funding supports has been made available for Tyndall National Institute’s role in three EU Pilot Lines under the European Chips Act and for the I-C3 Competence Centre, a consortium of MIDAS, UCD, and UCC, providing SMEs and start-ups with training, design platforms, and infrastructure.
• In December this year, I announced that a further seven projects are to receive funding under the seventh Call of my Department’s Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) bringing the total under Call seven to €159 million.
• Earlier in 2025, I launched the Smart Specialisation Dashboard and published my Department’s first Progress Report for the National Smart Specialisation Strategy for Innovation 2022-2027.
• Led by the team in Enterprise Ireland, Ireland reached €1 billion in approvals under Horizon Europe in September 2025. Ireland is on track to exceed the €1.5 billion target by 2027.
My Department has received an allocation of €3.68 billion under the National Development Plan through to 2030, which includes an additional €400 million over the period, which is designed to support Irish based enterprises to start up, grow and scale internationally, and to drive their competitiveness and productivity.
As well as continuing the ongoing core programmes mentioned above during 2026 and future years, this allocation will enable my Department to provide additional support to the EI/IDA Technology Centres programme over the next 5 years to scale priority centres allowing them to engage with a broader industry base and provide cross-sectoral support.
The additional NDP allocation will also enable Irish based enterprises to participate in collaborative RD&I opportunities internationally, including using the Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) mechanism. A call for expressions of interest for IPCEI participation was launched by my Department earlier this month to identify businesses active in various fields, including for e.g. Semiconductor Technologies, that may wish to put forward projects that could fit within the scope of the emerging IPCEI themes.
My Department expects to launch a further call under the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund in 2026.
In 2026 I will publish my updated National Digital and AI Strategy, which has as a key focus driving digital and AI through innovation. Under the forthcoming Strategy, my Department will progress the establishment of a new AI Office of Ireland in 2026, an independent statutory entity which will act as the central coordinating authority for the EU AI Act, will be a major milestone, providing clarity and regulatory certainty for enterprise.
Finally, my Department will launch an Advisory Council on Semiconductors in early 2026 to advance Ireland’s semiconductor ecosystem.
