Ms Nora Trench Bowles:

I thank the Chairman. I will build on many of the points made by Dr. Brennan and will respond to Senator Byrne’s specific request for asks. I refer again to the Government budget allocation for research and development, GBARD, which is the level of Government investment in research and we cannot shy away from the fact that here in Ireland it has consistently fallen below 1% where the EU average is 1.3%. In terms of enhancing Ireland’s opportunities in Horizon Europe, and crucially in attracting top-class partners to collaborate with, we have calculated that an additional €350 million a year would be needed to bring Ireland in line with the EU average.

There is also something important to flag as to a national system that values basic discovery research and the importance of that for top-class partners.

Finally, on the topic of increasing outward mobility and the crucial link there to foreign languages, we know that the love and capacity for learning languages is something that is built long before higher education. If that is not developed through the primary and secondary schools, it is too late by the time students reach higher education. That joined-up thinking on foreign languages is particularly key.