Mr. Brian Cotter:

Deputy Peadar Tóibín's question is relevant because when one considers the interface, the issue of linkages and opportunities arises. Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland are investigating this area with a view to identifying opportunities. In general, it is necessary to find out what is driving the multinationals. One of the trends in the past ten years has been consolidation of supply chains. Irish companies must ask whether they are fit for the purpose of supplying multinational companies on a global basis rather than just locally. In some cases they will need to upgrade their skills and technology. There is a greater understanding of this issue and I hope the current programme Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland are running will identify opportunities.

Multinationals are increasingly drawn into Science Foundation Ireland’s programme of investment in research and development. Current trends such as the convergence of sectors suggest there will be better opportunities for collaboration in the research and development space as we progress from research to development and commercialisation. Irish companies can take advantage of these opportunities to become involved with multinationals at that level. The investments Irish companies are making in research and development through Enterprise Ireland should allow for a confluence of entrepreneurship. The university-led programmes around the centres for science, engineering and technology will need that injection of entrepreneurship if we are to make their research outputs more commercially applicable.

We will see more development opportunities and jobs. Perhaps in ten or 20 years we will be talking not about indigenous or foreign companies but about Irish-based companies. That is probably where we would want to go to in the conversation, namely, to have a mix of ownership and management which would be world class in their fields.