21st June 2019
Minister of State for Training, Skills, Research and Innovation, John Halligan TD, has welcomed the Mid-term Review of Innovation 2020, published Tuesday 18 June 2019.
Innovation 2020 (I2020), Ireland’s strategy for research and development, science and technology, set a vision for Ireland to become a Global Innovation Leader, driving a strong, sustainable economy and better society. The Mid-term Review of I2020 covers the first three years to December 2018, reviewing the significant progress made. The Review acknowledges the changes in the policy environment and reaffirms the continued relevance of I2020 in ensuring the delivery of excellent research across Ireland. The Review has been carried out by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation on behalf of the I2020 Implementation Group.
Minister Halligan said: “I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the dedication and hard work of our research and innovation communities which deliver excellence and impact across all disciplines, in academia and enterprise, in the public and the private sector. Innovation 2020 has put a ‘whole of Government’ stamp on research and development that is carried out through public funding by many Government departments and has kept our objectives and national ambition to the forefront. It has brought together diverse actors across the R&I community to address many cross-cutting issues such as Open Research, research integrity and gender. This Review is a celebration of our collective achievements, which are numerous. However, there is no room for complacency and we need to continue to prioritise research and innovation in the remaining 18 months of this Strategy. The Future Jobs Ireland Strategy and this Mid-term Review are significant as we look to prepare a successor Strategy with a renewed vision for RDI in Ireland post 2020”.
The annual European Innovation Scoreboard, published by the European Commission on 17th June 2019, shows that amid increased innovation performance across the EU, Ireland remains a Strong Innovator and, in 10th place, remains one of the top ten most innovative Member States, above the EU average. The Scoreboard provides a comparative assessment of the research and innovation performance of the EU Member States and the relative strengths and weaknesses of their research and innovation systems. The EU has outperformed the US for the first time.
On the Scoreboard result, Minister Halligan added: “I’m glad to see Ireland maintaining a position in the top ten countries in an increasingly innovative EU. I’m particularly inspired by our success in converting our research, development and innovation efforts into high quality jobs, sales and exports. Innovation in Europe and beyond has been improving steadily over the past several years and Ireland must continue to prioritise investment in RDI to ensure we remain competitive vis a vis both our European colleagues and collaborators and internationally as we continue to strive towards becoming a Global Innovation Leader”.
Performance in innovation across the EU is assessed using 27 indicators across 10 Innovation dimensions. This year, Ireland again tops the Employment impacts and Sales impacts dimensions. Employment impacts measures the impact on employment in knowledge-intensive activities and employment in fast-growing firms in innovative sectors. Sales impacts measures the economic impact of innovation and includes three indicators measuring exports of medium and high-tech products, exports of knowledge-intensive services and sales due to innovation activities.
The Regional Innovation Scoreboard 2019, also released yesterday, shows that Ireland’s three regions are also Strong Innovators, with the Southern and the Eastern and Midland regions being considered Strong+ Innovators.
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Note to the editor
Future Jobs Ireland 2019, is the first in a series of annual reports as part of a multi-annual framework. Future Jobs Ireland outlines longer-term ambitions for the future of the economy out until 2025 taking account of the challenges ahead. Each year, Future Jobs Ireland will set out the steps to deliver on the ambitions with the ultimate goal of increasing the resilience of our economy and future-proofing it.
Each of the Five Pillars of Future Jobs Ireland has high level targets for 2025. Future Jobs Ireland includes 26 ambitions which contain 127 deliverables (actions) for completion in 2019. Each deliverable has a quantifiable output, a lead Department and timeframe.
In terms of implementation, Future Jobs Ireland will be a standing agenda item overseen by Cabinet Committee A. Progress on deliverables will be reported quarterly to the Senior Official Group. Biannually, more detailed progress reports will be made to Government and subsequently published.
Key deliverables for 2019 under each pillar include:
Pillar 1: Embracing Innovation and Technological Change
- Deliver important policy initiatives including an Industry 4.0 Strategy, a National Digital Strategy, and a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy
- Form Top Teams to progress areas of opportunity for Ireland beginning with Artificial Intelligence, GovTech and Offshore Renewables
- Develop Ireland as a centre for developing and testing new technologies by, for example:
- extending the EI/IDA Irish Manufacturing Research Additive Manufacturing technology centre to include cobotics and AR/VR,
- progressing the Advanced Manufacturing Centre,
- expanding the Tyndall National Institute,
- commencing the development of a National Centre of Excellence on High Performance and Nearly Zero Energy Buildings
- commencing the development of a National Design Centre
- With NESC, develop a strategy for Transition Teams to help the transition of vulnerable enterprises and workers
Pillar 2: Improving SME Productivity
- Deliver a new female entrepreneurship strategy
- Develop a new investment funding facility to assist indigenous Irish companies in scaling their businesses
- Encourage the growth of clusters where enterprises can grow and help each other and deepen linkages between foreign and Irish owned businesses
- Increase the impact of Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) and increase SME take-up of Enterprise Ireland (EI) and LEO productivity supports
- Drive productivity growth in the construction and retail sectors
Pillar 3: Enhancing Skills and Developing and Attracting Talent
- Offer career advice to workers through the Public Employment Service
- Engrain lifelong learning and offer career enhancing opportunities to workers
- Ensure our economic migration system is responsive to our labour market needs
- Promote flexible training options
- Provide training in emerging technologies
Pillar 4: Increasing Participation in the Labour Force
- Conduct a national consultation on extending flexible working options
- Develop guidelines for employers on flexible working options
- Develop a return to work service (e.g. for women returning to the workplace) as part of the Public Employment Service
- Improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities
- Provide incentives for people who wish to work longer
Pillar 5: Transitioning to a Low Carbon Economy
- Position Ireland as a centre in research, development and innovation, for smart grids, buildings and renewable technologies
- Review the regional dimension of the economic and employment implications of the transition to a low carbon economy
- Promote electric vehicles and achieve over 10,000 electric vehicles on the road by the end of the year
- Deliver a national deep retrofit programme for existing housing stock.
ENDS
The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation (DBEI) plays a key role in implementing the Government’s policies of stimulating the productive capacity of the economy and creating an environment which supports job creation and maintenance. The Department has lead responsibility for Irish policy on global trade and inward investment and a remit to promote fair competition in the marketplace, protect consumers and safeguard workers.
For further information please contact Press Office, D/Business, Enterprise and Innovation, press.office@dbei.gov.ie or (01) 631-2200
Pillar 1: Embracing Innovation and Technological Change
- Deliver important policy initiatives including an Industry 4.0 Strategy, a National Digital Strategy, and a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy
- Form Top Teams to progress areas of opportunity for Ireland beginning with Artificial Intelligence, GovTech and Offshore Renewables
- Develop Ireland as a centre for developing and testing new technologies by, for example:
- extending the EI/IDA Irish Manufacturing Research Additive Manufacturing technology centre to include cobotics and AR/VR,
- progressing the Advanced Manufacturing Centre,
- expanding the Tyndall National Institute,
- commencing the development of a National Centre of Excellence on High Performance and Nearly Zero Energy Buildings
- commencing the development of a National Design Centre
- With NESC, develop a strategy for Transition Teams to help the transition of vulnerable enterprises and workers
Pillar 2: Improving SME Productivity
- Deliver a new female entrepreneurship strategy
- Develop a new investment funding facility to assist indigenous Irish companies in scaling their businesses
- Encourage the growth of clusters where enterprises can grow and help each other and deepen linkages between foreign and Irish owned businesses
- Increase the impact of Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) and increase SME take-up of Enterprise Ireland (EI) and LEO productivity supports
- Drive productivity growth in the construction and retail sectors
Pillar 3: Enhancing Skills and Developing and Attracting Talent
- Offer career advice to workers through the Public Employment Service
- Engrain lifelong learning and offer career enhancing opportunities to workers
- Ensure our economic migration system is responsive to our labour market needs
- Promote flexible training options
- Provide training in emerging technologies
Pillar 4: Increasing Participation in the Labour Force
- Conduct a national consultation on extending flexible working options
- Develop guidelines for employers on flexible working options
- Develop a return to work service (e.g. for women returning to the workplace) as part of the Public Employment Service
- Improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities
- Provide incentives for people who wish to work longer
Pillar 5: Transitioning to a Low Carbon Economy
- Position Ireland as a centre in research, development and innovation, for smart grids, buildings and renewable technologies
- Review the regional dimension of the economic and employment implications of the transition to a low carbon economy
- Promote electric vehicles and achieve over 10,000 electric vehicles on the road by the end of the year
Deliver a national deep retrofit programme for existing housing stock.
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