Innovation Europe > News > Innovation EU Vol2-1 > Innovation Ireland

Following average GDP growth of 6% in the period from 1995 to 2007, economic activity dropped sharply in 2008 (-2.3% of GDP). Ireland has entered a recession exacerbated by the world financial crisis and collapse of the Irish property market.

The total fall in GNP between 2008 and 2010 will exceed 14%. Unemployment, meanwhile, is currently 11.4% (May 2009) and likely to rise to 15% by year-end.

Ireland’s innovation performance has been increasing fastest within the group of Innovation Followers, followed by Austria. Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands are the other members of the Innovation Followers with innovation performance below those of the innovation leaders, but above that of the EU-27 average.

Ireland is – and has been for many years – the notable performer in “human resources”. Its weaker areas are in “firm investments” and “finance and support”, which declined rather than grew.

Main innovation challenges

• To ensure the HE sector achieves its performance targets.
• To maintain the level of innovation in the private sector.
• To build the internal company capacity to innovate.

Conclusion

Much of the focus has been on government investment in innovation, with much of the investment following “best practice” from other small, successful European countries.

Overall, the objectives are clear, the level of investment has been successfully increased, and the specific targets are being pursued. In the future, there needs to be more focus on the outcomes and the impacts.

Over the next four years the approach to evaluations should encompass a more programmatic approach based on the new policy measure groupings rather than an individual measure approach, for example, to assess whether the industry R&D initiatives could achieve their targets and how they interact.

Additional innovative measures are needed to assist medium-sized indigenous companies with growth potential/capability to increase their R&D expenditure and there needs to be better recognition for industry research within thirdollevel institutions.

The volume of VC needs to be increased; and Ireland needs to address its broadband deficiencies – to improve access throughout the country and achieve significantly higher speeds at a reasonable cost. The number of rapidly expanding high-tech service or manufacturing companies needs to be increased, as does the annual number of first-stage HPSUs.

New knowledge-transfer measures are needed to get new PhD researchers into private companies and there is a need to better define the role and contribution of third-level institutions in national and regional development (at NUTS 3 level).