957. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the enterprise or innovation supports operated by his Department, Enterprise Ireland or agencies under its aegis that specifically address the growing geospatial technology sector; whether his Department has assessed the geospatial sector as a growth opportunity for Irish enterprise; if no sector-specific support or assessment has been identified, to state the reason; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54823/26]

My Department and its agencies do not currently operate a dedicated enterprise support programme exclusively for the geospatial technology sector. However, companies operating in the geospatial field can access the full range of horizontal enterprise supports provided by Enterprise Ireland, including supports for research and development, innovation, productivity improvement, digitalisation, internationalisation, scaling and market development. Enterprise Ireland’s strategy is focused on supporting Irish enterprises to start, compete, scale and connect internationally, irrespective of sector where firms meet the relevant eligibility criteria.

In addition, Enterprise Ireland supports industry-focused innovation which provides companies with access to research expertise and applied innovation capabilities across a range of technology domains. These programmes are available to geospatial technology companies on the same basis as other innovation-driven enterprises.

My Department has also identified opportunities arising from space technologies, earth observation and satellite-enabled services, which have strong links with the geospatial sector. Through Enterprise Ireland’s role in Ireland’s engagement with the European Space Agency (ESA), Irish companies are supported in developing capabilities in areas such as earth observation, navigation, positioning and satellite-enabled services. Ireland’s National Space Strategy for Enterprise is intended to strengthen the commercial opportunities available to Irish firms operating in these and related technology fields.