Enterprise Ireland
Annual Report and Accounts 2007

Chief Executive Officer’s report

• Homepage
• Chairman’s statement
• Chief Executive Officer’s report

---

• Section 1
  Achieving export sales
• Section 2
  Industry-led research and innovation
• Section 3
  World class productivity and management development
• Section 4
  Starting and scaling companies
• Section 5
  Driving regional enterprise

---

• Membership of the Board and Committees
• Organisation structure
• Corporate governance
• Financial statements
• Global office network

At the conclusion of the Enterprise Ireland strategy Transforming Irish Industry 2005–2007, I am delighted to report that all targets have been met or exceeded. Over the life of the strategy, our client companies won €4.419 billion in new export sales.

This represents strong progress in the face of intensifying global competition and market challenges. As a result, more Irish companies than ever before are building strong, sustainable positions in the international market place.

Successful completion of three-year strategy

The overall objectives of the 2005–2007 strategy were to help transform Irish companies into market-focused and innovation-driven businesses across all regions and sectors, to increase their exports, sales and employment, and to develop a highly competitive, self-sufficient, world-class enterprise structure.

The strategy set out five challenging targets to support the development and growth of Irish companies. Measured primarily by new export sales, the key strategic targets were in the areas of start-up activity, company R&D spend and productivity improvements.

Due to the achievements of our clients, and building on the previous strong results of 2005 and 2006, the 2007 performance reflects the successful completion of the organisation’s three-year plan.

The new export sales achieved over the last three years have been won by Irish companies tenaciously pursuing new market opportunities, intensifying existing customer relationships and opening up new markets with innovative products and services. Their exporting success is directly linked to advancements in innovation, research, productivity, management development and entrepreneurship over the period of the strategy.

Enterprise Ireland implemented the Transforming Irish Industry 2005–2007 strategy through five main areas of activity:

Transforming Irish Industry 2005–2007

1.	€3 billion in new export sales by year-end 2007 €4.419 billion in new export sales
2.	Increase to 617 the number of companies engaged in meaningful R&D (€100,000 + investment per annum) by 2007* 624 companies are engaged in meaningful R&D projects
3.	Increase to 42 the number of companies engaged in significant R&D (€2 million + investment per annum) to 2007** 42 companies are engaged in significant R&D projects
4.	Support the creation of 210 new high potential start-up companies nationwide by year-end 2007 221 new high potential start-up companies supported
5.	Drive export readiness by implementing productivity and competitiveness improvement projects in 300+ companies by year-end 2007 346 productivity improvement projects supported

* With an overall target of 1,050 by 2013
** With an overall target of 100 by 2013