John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to introduce very briefly the elements of the Supplementary Estimate relating to research and innovation. Under the Department's proposed allocation, just over €11 million would be apportioned to meet commitments in respect of various research and development programmes of national importance. This will help us to accelerate delivery against our targets and goals as set out in Innovation 2020.

The €5 million Supplementary Estimate funding for the European Space Agency, ESA, will be invested across six technology development programmes to drive Ireland forward as a competitive player in the space sector. This investment is directly aligned with the new national space strategy for enterprise, which I published earlier this year and which aims to increase public and private investment in the ESA by 50% by 2025 and develop a strong and economically sustainable space-active industry in Ireland. As I have noted previously in committee and in the Dáil, our investment through the ESA delivers a sevenfold return in terms of its ultimate impact. It is critical that we increase our ambition in this area.

The specific programmes in which we will invest include telecommunications and integrated applications, exploration, transportation and earth observation. An additional €1.7 million will be paid to the European Southern Observatory as a contribution to our existing membership liabilities, including the joining fees, which are to be paid over a number of years, and Ireland's contribution to the extremely large telescope, ELT. Membership of the ESO affords Irish astronomers and researchers the opportunity to be part of an international scientific community conducting groundbreaking research in the most advanced facilities. ESO membership will grow Ireland's skill base in high-tech areas, delivering on the ambitions of Future Jobs Ireland.

The proposed allocation of €1.5 million for Tyndall National Institute in Cork will contribute towards upgrading works to accommodate more researchers in the field of cutting-edge ICT. This funding will enhance Tyndall's ability to support innovation and deliver significant economic benefit in the form of highly skilled jobs, new start-up activity and investment.

An additional €1 million is proposed for Science Foundation Ireland for a number of existing commitments that fall due in 2019. Taken together with increases in its capital funding in 2020, SFI will be able to fund additional research activity through both its research centres and its funding for individual awards.

The €2 million for cycle 5 of the programme for research in third level institutions, PRTLI, will address existing financial commitments under that programme. The PRTLI has supported investment in top-class infrastructure and human capital development across Ireland's higher education institutions. It has been an important programme for creating the foundation on which further investments by SFI and our other funding agencies now build.

The evolution of research, development and innovation and its associated investment have been a cornerstone of Ireland's enterprise policy for many years. In order to become an innovation leader, it is essential Ireland keeps apace with and anticipates developments in the field. This ambition must be matched by investment in innovation, research and development and reflected in the above funding decisions. This supplementary allocation of just over €11 million will provide welcome additional funding into our system, support the quality and impact of our scientific capacity, contribute to our job creation and enterprise growth and help us to deliver on our Innovation 2020 targets and commitments as we look to the future. Again, I welcome the opportunity to give a very brief introduction as to where this €11 million is being invested.