Call for industry R&D initiative

INDUSTRY representative groups have called for a State backed "innovation initiative" to encourage more investment by Irish companies in research and development. Companies here also want a "sharper and more focused strategy" in State planning for science and innovation.

The low level of investment by Irish companies in R&D was identified as a priority issue by the Irish Research Development Group (IRDG) and IBEC in a joint response to the Government's White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation. R&D is "a strategic issue for industry in Ireland", according to the document, released yesterday.

R&D spending was 1 per cent of GDP here compared to an EU average of 1.2 per cent and an OECD average of 1.5 per cent. The US figure was 2.7 per cent and Japan's 2.8 per cent.

"By any comparison, industry spend on R&D in Ireland is not high enough," it states, adding that, because of peripherality, the spend here must be even higher.

"The big guys aren't spending enough and too many aren't spending anything," according to Dr Dick Kavanagh, managing director of IRDG. The response, he said yesterday, was for the Government to launch an innovation initiative, using existing resources to encourage more companies to undertake R&D.