Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and his officials. The Minister will be delighted to hear that Kinsale Community College, which is from his county, won first prize today at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists. That is exactly the space we need to occupy. The difficulty with the Minister's brief is that it is long-term. Last night the five Deputies from Mayo met the members of the international board of Allergan, who were in Westport for their annual strategy meeting. They are putting a €250 million investment into Westport. This is from a plant that started in the mid-1970s as a box-making plant, effectively. It is now one of the jewels in Allergan's crown. These are serious players in the international science and research community and to hear what they had to say about Ireland, where it is going and the ambition of the country in terms of science and research over many years was really good. They had praise for SFI and its work. That is the practical aspect. There is research on new products; we do not know what they will be five years hence. There are jobs being imagined that we cannot imagine ourselves today. That is what the Minister's brief is about and that is why it is so important.

Well done on Horizon 2020. The Minister has a year to maximise the Irish element in that. We have an Irish Commissioner in that area who is on top of her game. The Minister must have a very strong working relationship with her to ensure we maximise our take from that. There is only a year to do it, so it is important that we see that through.

With regard to the innovation union and particularly in the context of the previous discussion with the Minister, Deputy Bruton, about the Small Business Act, how will the Minister SME-proof it? How will the Minister of State ensure, in spending this money, that SMEs get a chance? I refer to every SME, not just the gazelles referred to by Deputy Bruton. Every SME must have some type of role in this. What does the Minister of State have in mind on that?

Finally, we probably all knew about the progression of South Korea, but the figure quoted by the Minister is startling. What can we learn from South Korea in view of its having moved so rapidly ahead of the EU?