Enterprise Ireland is an Irish stateeconomic development agency focused on helping Irish-owned business deliver new export sales. The aim of Enterprise Ireland is to accelerate the development of Irish enterprises capable of achieving strong positions in global markets resulting in increased national and regional prosperity and purchasing power.
History
Enterprise Ireland was established by the Industrial Development Act 1998, superseding two earlier bodies: Forbairt and An Bord Tráchtála. Forbairt had been established as part of Forfás in 1993, to make industrial development grants, while An Bord Tráchtála had been established in 1991 by merging the Irish Goods Council and Córas Tráchtala. Córas Tráchtála had been founded in 1959 to market Irish goods abroad. The Irish Goods Council was founded to market Irish goods in Ireland in 1974, originally within the National Development Association as the Working Group on the Promotion and Sale of Irish Goods; in 1978 it was spun out and merged with Vivian Murray's private National Development Council as a limited company.
Operations
Support for companies
Enterprise Ireland provides financial support and advice to Irish technology companies. It helps them in promoting goods and services to foreign markets. The Irish software sector is one area that Enterprise Ireland is focused on.
Applied Research Enhancement Program
Applied Research Enhancement Centres are funded by Enterprise Ireland with the purpose of providing specialised expertise, research and development capabilities and access to state of the art equipment to companies. Companies may engage with AREs under a number of EI funded opportunities including EI vouchers and Innovation Partnerships. The AREs are divided sectorally into ICT and Software, Bio-Life Sciences and Pharmaceuticals and Bio-medical Devices and Materials. The ICT and Software Sector AREs are:
South Eastern Applied Materials Research Centre located at Waterford Institute of Technology
Centre for Advanced Photonics and Process Control located at Cork Institute of Technology
Medical Engineering Design and Innovation Centre located at Cork Institute of Technology
Other programmes
Enterprise Platform Programmes were business incubator programmes run under the remit of Enterprise Ireland to meet the needs of Irish entrepreneurs in a business start-up situation. The Enterprise Platform Programme was replaced by the "New Frontiers" programme in February 2012.
