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The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, and Minister for Research and Innovation, Sean Sherlock TD, will chair an informal meeting of the Competitiveness Council in Dublin Castle on Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd May.

Minister for Research and Innovation, Sean Sherlock TD, will chair the meeting of Europe’s Research Ministers on Thursday. Ministers are set to discuss how best to maximise the potential for jobs and growth from the investments being made in research and innovation. The Ministers will receive presentations from leading figures from the industry, research and SME sectors, including Dr Martin Curley of Intel Labs Europe, Professor Fergus Shanahan of UCC and Dr Kai Engel of A.T. Kearney. The meeting will also be addressed by Ireland’s EU Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn.    

Minister Bruton will chair the informal meeting EU Enterprise and Industry Ministers on Friday. The focus for Ministers will be enabling SMEs to drive European growth and job creation. Ministers will hear from a number of leading authorities on SMEs. Speakers include Professor Josh Lerner, Professor of Investment Banking at Harvard Business School who will speak on SME access to finance, former winner of Irish Entrepreneur of the Year, Liam Shanahan, who will identify the key measures required for SMEs to internationalise and Professor Thomas Cooney from DIT who will speak on cities and regions as drivers of entrepreneurship, innovation, economic growth and jobs. European Commission Vice President and Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, Antonio Tajani is among the keynote speakers.  

Minister Richard Bruton said: “Given that Ireland’s priorities during our EU Presidency are stability, jobs and growth, I’m delighted to welcome Enterprise and Research Ministers to Dublin to focus on measures to maximise growth and jobs. SMEs are the engines of growth and job creation. If each EU SME could create just one new job, we would generate 23 million jobs throughout the EU. I look forward to a productive discussion on how EU Governments can best assist our entrepreneurs to face up to this challenge.”

Minister Sean Sherlock commented: “Getting the approach and focus on research and innovation right will be crucial to ensuring the future prosperity of the EU. That’s why we need consensus on how best to maximise the benefits of research investment in terms of jobs, growth and European society. I hope Ministers will gain some valuable insights from the leading experts who will share their experience with us and I look forward to a rewarding debate.”