Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 February 2023
175. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the amount of funding allocated to the agile innovation fund in 2021, 2022, and to date in 2023, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5374/23]
View answerThe Agile Innovation Fund is funded by my Department, through Enterprise Ireland.
Enterprise Ireland supports companies across Ireland to start, innovate and remain competitive in international markets, now and into the future. They provide grant support for companies to carry out in-house research and development, and also to harness the knowledge and expertise of the Higher Education Sector.
The Agile Innovation Fund provides companies with rapid access to innovation funding and supports the development of new or substantially improved products, services or processes. It features a streamlined online application form with fast-track approval and supports companies in sectors with rapid design cycles to maintain their technology position. The benefits of this Fund are that it allows for a very simple application process and delivers a very fast response from application to approval.
This Fund allows companies to access up to 50% in support for product, process or service development projects. Projects may range from solving technical research and development challenges to innovations in services delivery or business models. The Fund is open for applications all year round and is open to clients of Enterprise Ireland (EI), Local Enterprise Offices and Údarás na Gaeltachta.
The table below shows the value of the approvals of funding made to companies under the Fund which have been approved by committees in Enterprise Ireland, Local Enterprise Offices and Údarás na Gaeltachta and then offered to companies in letters of offer.
|
Year |
Grants approved to companies |
|
2021 |
€8,1m |
|
2022 |
€5,7m |
|
2023 (YTD 01/02/2023) |
€0.2m |
|
Total |
€14m |
