Minister Presents Ireland's First Innovation Voucher

Ireland's first Innovation Voucher was presented to Applied Thermal Imagery Ltd, by the Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment Micheal Martin in Cork.

Applied Thermal Imagery Ltd is one of 194 small companies to receive an Innovation Voucher worth €5,000 in the first phase of the €10m fund. The fund, launched by the Minister last March, is designed to assist small Irish firms become more innovative. The presentation was made on the opening day of the second phase of the Enterprise Ireland managed initiative, which runs from 2nd July to the 31st July 2007.

Under this scheme small companies in receipt of a €5,000 Innovation Voucher can exchange it for advice and expertise from any one of the 21 participating knowledge providers, drawn mainly from Ireland's third-level institutions.

In addition firms can pool vouchers allowing them to jointly purchase research from the institutions. Congratulating Applied Thermal Imagery Ltd Minister Martin said: "Support for innovation, particularly in small companies, is essential in developing Ireland's knowledge economy. There is a vast amount of creativity in our small business community, that, when matched with the right technical and business solutions in our research community will improve the efficiency, productivity and competitiveness of participating companies, and in turn the Irish economy."

The Minister was keen to see more companies benefit from the initiative: "I encourage all small companies in Ireland to apply for one of the 200 Innovation Vouchers available in Phase 2."

Receiving the voucher on behalf of Applied Thermal Imagery Ltd, James Connolly, MD, thanked Enterprise Ireland and the Cork Enterprise Board for their assistance in applying for an Innovation Voucher.

"We intend to use this voucher to improve our knowledge of thermal imaging and heat-loss in construction projects, which we believe will help to strengthen our competitiveness. This initiative is a great way to give companies like ours the opportunity to work with researchers in the third level sector.

"Small companies in receipt of a €5,000 Innovation Voucher can exchange it for advice and expertise from any one of the 21 participating knowledge providers, drawn mainly from Ireland's third-level institutions."

Applications can be made through Enterprise Ireland's dedicated website at www.innovationvouchers.ie

(CD/SP)