From a proposed national AI office to greater access to funding for start-ups and scale-ups, we gathered industry reactions to the Irish Government’s Action Plan for Competitiveness.

It is a 132-page document and still being digested by many commentators, but the initial reaction from industry to the Government’s Action Plan for Competitiveness and Productivity published yesterday was a positive one, with particular enthusiasm for initiatives on the funding of indigenous business, and wide-ranging ambitions around AI, including a proposed National AI Office.

Artificial intelligence

Scale Ireland, the membership body for scaling indigenous start-ups, welcomed the proposed initiatives on AI, including the National Artificial Intelligence Office (NAIO) as “positive”, but says it will seek further information and consultation.

Digital Business Ireland (DBI), which represents retailers and other digital businesses, too welcomed the plan for a NAIO, but cautioned against overlap with other agencies, and increased bureaucracy, saying the “Office must not lead to duplication or fragmentation in term of Government AI policy and regulation and the delivery of AI supports for businesses in Ireland”.

“Digital Business Ireland and others have repeatedly called for a new National AI Office in order to deliver consistency, coherence, and coordination in Government AI policy, so as to support the effective adoption of AI in Ireland and the growth of Ireland’s digital economy,” said DBI chair, Caroline Dunlea. “Its role and relationships with other state agencies and regulators must be clear and must avoid simply adding another layer of bureaucracy or regulation to an already overcrowded field.”

EY Ireland’s Head of AI & Data, Eoin O’Reilly, welcomed the plans too.

“Whether it’s reshaping entire business models or supercharging software that helps slash hospital waiting lists, trusted AI is now critical to the future of our country,” he said. “It makes a lot of sense for Ireland to have a central, all-of-Government coordinating authority that can strategically support both the private and public sectors to thoughtfully drive AI adoption at pace and at scale.”

O’Reilly described the proposal to establish an AI Factory Antenna hosted in Ireland as “an interesting one”.

“By giving indigenous SMEs access to resources so that they can integrate advanced AI into their processes and products faster, could be a powerful catalyst for growth in this important part of our economy, where the appetite to move fast on AI is steadily growing,” he said.

Finally, he hailed the potential for the proposed establishment of a publicly available AI Observatory that would deliver real-time data insights on a wide range of AI metrics, saying the resource would be useful to many stakeholders, “not least the Government itself, as it seeks to thoughtfully make the right strategic policy decisions grounded in trusted information”.

Taxation and funding

Industry has been working hard to get the government’s attention when it comes to funding of our indigenous start-ups, SMEs and scale-ups, while a recent Department of Enterprise-commissioned report flagged a €1.1bn funding gap. Details were still scarce in yesterday’s plan, there was a definite recognition of this need.

Just this week, Scale Ireland’s CEO Martina Fitzgerald joined with IVCA director general Sarah-Jane Larkin to pen an urgent call to action on funding here on siliconrepublic.com, call for Ireland to mobilise more private capital from sources including pension funds.

Last night, Scale Ireland said in a statement that it particularly welcomed the commitment to tackle our scaling funding gap.

“Scale Ireland welcomes the specific commitment for policy actions that will incentivise pension fund and institutional investor participation into scaling equity funds, the establishment of an SME Scaling Fund, and a review of tax measures to incentivise investment into start-up and scaling companies,” it said.

“It is critical that Ireland solves its funding challenges if we are to meet the ambitious targets set out in Enterprise Ireland’s new Enterprise Strategy.”

Scale Ireland also welcomed the commitment for simplification of state supports: “This is a significant issue for start-ups and scaling companies which do not have the resources to navigate complex schemes and initiatives.”

While Ibec’s reaction focused on infrastructure and energy costs, it too welcomed the proposed simplification measures for businesses.

“Ibec has long highlighted the negative impact of excessive regulatory burdens on businesses, especially SMEs,” said its executive director of lobbying and influence, Fergal O’Brien. “The inclusion of a ‘Red Tape Challenge’ to reduce regulation across all sectors, and the application of an SME test across all government measures, is an important step forward.”

Meanwhile Dermot Casey, CEO at IRDG (Industry Research and Development Group) said he was glad to see its recommendations on tax incentives for innovation included in the plan. An IRDG report with KPMG in May called for Government to introduce an innovation tax credit in parallel with the existing R&D tax credit. Yesterday’s plan says the R&D tax credit will be reviewed to keep it “best in class”, and to make it more effective for smaller firms, as well as examining “options…including new tax-based supports – to encourage innovation by all firms”.

“Strengthening the R&D Tax Credit, simplifying it for SMEs and introducing a new Innovation Tax Credit are key recommendations from IRDG,” said Casey. “We would expect on this basis to see some significant actions in the Budget next month. It would be an important and bold step to see fresh tax reliefs to spur R&D and tech adoption in companies of all sizes which is a huge opportunity for Ireland.”

DBI’s Dunlea, also welcomed this: “The new proposal for tax measures for adoption of innovative technologies is very welcome and could support Irish businesses to accelerate their digital transition, including leveraging the benefits of AI. But an Action Plan is no good unless it’s implemented. It is critically important that this proposal is implemented in the upcoming Budget. “

One thing that united all the commentators was that need for the proposed provisions to be implemented in the upcoming Budget, scheduled for October 7.

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