Innovation is at the heart of the Irish economic success story, and companies must strive constantly to maintain a culture in which new ideas flourish, the chief executive of Forfas, Mr John Travers, said yesterday.

Launching this year's National Innovation Awards, Mr Travers said the annual prize had helped bring innovation to the forefront of business thinking.

The awards, which are sponsored by The Irish Times and Price Waterhouse, are designed to act as a showcase for new ideas in Irish business. As well as an overall prize, there are separate awards for large businesses, small businesses and special scientific or technological innovation.

"There is an obligation on all of us in industry, academia and government to foster and underpin the innovation capability of our growing economy," the Minister of State for Technology and Commerce, Mr Noel Treacy, told the gathering.

The Government had recently introduced the National Innovation Investment Fund, to support major research projects which were deemed to be of national strategic priority, Mr Treacy said. This approach could be expanded considerably in the context of a new round of EU structural funds, he added.

The closing date for entries is May 22nd and the awards will be presented in September. Further information is available from Ms Martina McDonnell, Forfas, Wilton Park House, Wilton Place, Dublin 2.