Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

That point is duly noted. I will relay it to the Minister, Deputy Bruton. As we speak, new innovations are being created by the Irish Maritime and Energy Resource Cluster as part of its work with Commodore Mark Mellett and the entire Naval Service, which is funded through the public purse and has its headquarters at Haulbowline, and its engagements with University College Cork and Cork Institute of Technology. There is a role for thinking about how the Irish Defence Forces interact with the SME sector. A number of companies are being scaled out of the activities of the Irish Maritime and Energy Resource Cluster at Ringaskiddy, in terms of meeting the needs of the navy in areas like fisheries patrols, drones and earth observation through the European Space Agency. The navy interacts with civilian society, and protects civilian society, in all sorts of innovative areas. One can drive new innovations from that activity as well.

I am trying to read between the lines of what Senator Cullinane said about the south east without misinterpreting what he said. The telecommunications, software and systems group is extremely well funded not because it is based in Waterford but because it does excellent research. Some people have claimed that there is a regional disparity and that funding goes into the universities but not into the regions. I would contend that one has to fund first and foremost on the basis of the excellence of the science and the research that is being conducted. That is a rule of thumb in research funding. If one were to shift the balance towards the provision of funding in this area on the basis of regional disparities, one would be going down a very narrow cul-de-sac. Senator Cullinane referred specifically to the landscape in the south east. If I am not mistaken, the telecommunications, software and systems group has already leveraged approximately €13 million under the seventh EU framework programme. That is a testament to the people who are there. The fact that they are in Waterford is incidental.

Science Foundation Ireland awards worth €7.47 million have been made in the south east. It is a strategic research cluster, as the Senator will know. An infrastructure award of €1.9 million was made in 2012. I was in the area two weeks ago. I maintain a close working relationship with the principal figures in all the research entities because I like to know what is going on. The telecommunications, software and systems group unquestionably stands out as a beacon. I am conscious of the need to ensure the group continues to evolve so that it can create new partnerships and collaborations with industry. I do not want to suggest that it needs to be protected. I think the Deputy answered his own question when he spoke about the group's engagement with SMEs. Our investments in research are predicated on that model of innovation, which is taking place throughout the country. I would like to respond to the point that was made about the public sector by saying that research scientists are invariably public sector workers. Many of the funds we award are used to meet the cost of overheads in terms of human capital.