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Building the Knowledge Society Information Society Commission 49Recommendation 9:The Minister for Communications should conduct an early review of the regulatoryframework for managing radio frequency spectrum and should bring forward proposalsas soon as possible aimed at increasing the public benefits from use of this resource.Universal Service Obligation (USO)Information Society developments require a review of Government’s Universal ServiceObligation (USO) for telecommunications services in terms of how this can best be appliedto data traffic and the progressive roll-out of higher speed services. The Commission notesin this context the recent publication of the UK Government White Paper which containeda commitment to review the need for an expanded universal service obligation to includeaccess to high speed Internet connections in light of the coverage delivered by the market. 35Recommendation 10:Government should consider extending the Universal Service Obligation fortelecommunications services to embrace digital data traffic and should bring forward earlyproposals for public consultation.4.2\ Enterprise DevelopmentInvestment in R&DNational competitiveness will increasingly depend on technology-based innovation. Investmentin R&D activity is not an area in which Ireland is traditionally strong. However, Governmenthas set about addressing this deficit with R&D investment of €2.5b being supported underthe National Development Plan. The Commission would highlight in particular the funding ofover €635m through Science Foundation Ireland to support world-class research in niche areasof ICT and biotechnology. We must recognise moving forward that our performance in this areamust rise to rival that of competitor countries that have established strong leadership positions,including having regard to best practice in use of fiscal incentives.Recommendation 11:The scale of investment in Science Foundation Ireland must be sustained and increasedover the longer term.Recommendation 12:Government should consider the introduction of specific fiscal incentives to support businessR&D investment.35 A Fair Deal for Rural England, UK Government White Paper, 2002
50 Building the Knowledge Society Information Society CommissionCommercialisation of Publicly Funded ResearchThe increased levels of investment in R&D require a new focus on deriving economic benefitsfrom enhanced commercialisation of research. Government agencies have tended to underinvestin commercialisation of non-commissioned research, even relative to historically lowlevels of public funding. Targeted action must be taken to improve performance in this area,with a new focus on turning ideas into commercial products that can create and maintain newjobs in the longer term. These actions need to be supported by appropriate and clearly statedarrangements for managing the ownership of associated intellectual property (IP).Recommendation 13:Government needs to prioritise introduction of clear arrangements to accelerate the leveland pace of commercialisation of publicly funded research.Recommendation 14:Government needs to introduce clearer policies in relation to the ownership of intellectualproperty arising from publicly funded research, informed by the objective of improvedcommercialisation outcomes.eBusiness AdoptionThe high profile collapse of a number of dot.com companies appears to have given rise to amisplaced cynicism about the importance of e-business as a driver of enterprise competitiveness.However, the fundamental significance of the efficiency gains facilitated by Internet technologiesremains, and there is no shortage of empirical evidence from enterprise to support this.Government has to date funded a number of support initiatives embracing awareness raising,training and strategy development, and deployment of good practice.Recommendation 15:There should be a strong focus on evaluating the outcomes of e-business supportprogrammes completed to date and applying this learning to inform ongoing policydevelopment and to enhance the effectiveness of new initiatives.Recommendation 16:The Commission supports a continuation of programmes to support SME e-businessengagement, with a particular focus on sectors where traditional business processes arelikely to be significantly enhanced by the application of Internet technologies. A high priorityshould be accorded to the widespread dissemination of sector-oriented case studies thatdemonstrate clear returns on e-business investment.Recommendation 17:It should be a requirement amongst all Government agencies involved in the support ofenterprise start-ups and enterprise development that ICT training be included as an integralpart of such support.
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