Mr. Paul Hannigan:

There are some specific research projects being considered that can be worked on across different institutions and have a direct impact. For example, here in the north west there are fintech clusters between Derry and Letterkenny. There is the development of skills, research and all that sort of thing through fintech learning laboratories. That is a soft initiative but it is one that can have a direct impact on employment, skills development, etc. in the region. There is also a lot of collaboration between the Letterkenny University Hospital and the Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry. There are some real opportunities arising out of that that will have a direct impact on the populations here. Those sorts of things are really important. There is no infrastructure of physical buildings involved but there are opportunities to make a real impact in terms of the people and that is something we need to keep a focus on as we move forward.

Perhaps Dr. Brennan from THEA would like to discuss the area of research.