Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

For the record, in my view, we would not be in the situation we are in as a country, with the employment levels we have, without investment in research and development and innovation. That is driving the activity in all sizes of companies. Without a doubt, there has to be research and development in both a public and private capacity. What we are trying to drive, from my understanding of all the various agencies, is a greater interaction and partnership of our public and private system. That should increase the level of terms and conditions for anybody involved in research and development. Having more spending and encouragement through incentives like this increases the spend and opportunities for anybody in the research community. It is not a case of singling out one company. Many of the companies I often hear mentioned in here are involved in some of our educational institutes and fund some really important research that leads on to innovation and job creation. Many interventions have a positive impact on climate change, the environment, health, people's lives and so on. There is much crossover with research and development.

I think that, as a country, if we want to continue with the high levels of employment we have, we have to encourage more companies of all sizes. I welcome the comments the Minister has made because it is more important that we get much more of our small and medium enterprise community involved in research and development. That is by simplifying it, making it more attractive and making it easier, and strengthening the relationship they have with Revenue too. That is important. As a fundamental policy, this is something we have to drive. I know some members here think the State should pay for all research and development, the same as they think the State should pay for all the housing. It does not work that way. One has to put mechanisms in place.