A survey of Irish businesses by KPMG and RedC published ahead of Budget 2017 has found that the majority (70%) of Irish businesses believe Ireland is innovation friendly with 80% of businesses engaged in innovative activity.
The findings are contained in KPMG’s Innovation Monitor report which annually assesses the attitudes of over 200 Irish businesses to innovation in Ireland and reveals that for many companies across Ireland, innovation remains a strategic priority.
This year’s report had a particular focus on the Knowledge Development Box, introduced in Budget 2016 to provide an attractive tax rate for income generated from commercialising R&D activities and intellectual property.
According to the research, 80% of businesses are engaged in innovative activity in Ireland and/or abroad. Despite this, only 33% believe the Government is doing enough to support and encourage innovation.
Commenting on the findings, Director at KPMG, Damien Flanagan said, "At a time when businesses face rapid change and disruption, nurturing innovation has never been more important. While 70% of the businesses who participated in our research consider Ireland to be innovation friendly, only one third believe that there is effective interaction between the various funding regimes, non-finance supports, collaborative opportunities, access to key talent and so on."
He added, "The most significant influence on their decision to innovate is the availability of funding while access to qualified in-house personnel and the availability of the R&D tax credit is also very important."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
