I am pleased, in the absence of the Member for Carmarthen East, to take part in this debate for Plaid Cymru to pursue issues with regard to economic development.

It is a debate on a vital area for the future of Wales. Our economic future is based on talented people developing ideas and developing those ideas in Wales, and we have to create the correct business environment to allow entrepreneurs to succeed, and our amendment sheds some light on what we in Plaid Cymru would like to see with regard to Government intervention to achieve that objective.

I’ll focus on innovation, which means doing entirely new things or, possibly, doing old things in new and better ways, but innovation can’t, necessarily, happen in a vacuum and we need to promote and encourage innovation. That’s why we call for the establishment of a dedicated national innovation body to increase expenditure on research and development, for example, to develop a reputation for Wales internationally as a nation of excellence with regard to research and innovation.

And there’s a close relationship, isn’t there, between innovation and entrepreneurship. When entrepreneurs transfer new information into new practice, that’s when innovation happens. Innovation and creating devices and developing new ideas create entrepreneurs, but what we need to do is to be a nation that can accelerate the speed at which our entrepreneurs can make use—practical use—of new ideas and innovations, and that’s where the Government’s role is vital.

It would be good to think that the market in itself would ensure that there’s plenty of research in the development of products, in R&D, here in Wales, but it’s not always the case. We can’t always depend on the market, and there are international examples that show that the role of innovation bodies is extremely valuable in getting to grips with underfunding, perhaps, in R&D funds, because of market failure. There is a great deal of variance with regard to the size and structure of bodies that exist in locations worldwide, but the raison d’être for those bodies is consistent. It’s possible that Innovate UK and Enterprise Ireland are some of the most recognised innovation bodies in the world. They’re large: £600 million in the case of Innovate UK, and €300 million with regard to Enterprise Ireland. But there are smaller bodies that work in a regional context, a sub-state context, which can lead to very important lessons for Wales.

I’ll talk about the JIC Innovation Park in the Czech Republic in South Moravia. Now, it’s a region with only 1.1 million residents, and unemployment has fallen from 12 per cent in 2002 to 4.7 per cent by now. It was only £0.5 million annually that the innovation park fund stood at when it was established, but now the sum has increased to £1.5 million. It’s a relatively small amount of money, but it has a significant impact. South Moravia has had a regional innovation strategy since 2002 and the innovation park focuses mainly on implementing strategies in partnership with the chamber of commerce, universities and other not-for-profit bodies. It focuses on the research agenda and has ensured research so that South Moravia spends 3.4 per cent of its gross domestic product on research and development, and that’s three times the percentage of the gross value added of Wales spent in this area. So, these are our competitors that we need to compete with, with regard to our expenditure on innovation. The Basque Country is also an example where there is an innovation body that is doing excellent work.

I know that the Welsh Government doesn’t support the idea of arm’s-length expert bodies supporting the Government in its agenda. I know when I was economy spokesperson I mooted the idea of having a new Welsh Development Agency for the twenty-first century. ‘It’s not democratic; it’s a quango’—that was the call from some, but, in the devolved era, there is that accountability here in the National Assembly. And, with regard to the Basque Country, the CEO there is a politician, and changes every four years, so it is possible to operate an arm’s-length body without losing accountability.

Time has beaten me. We do need innovation in policy as well. We need innovation in the Government’s attitude towards economic development. I appeal on behalf of business, and on behalf of the economy in Wales, for creativity from the Government and from the Cabinet Secretary.