Professor Philip Nolan:

I will make a very short intervention. I would be interested in what both Ms McGee and Professor Gleeson have to say on this.

The innovation scorecards are really important. The Deputy is absolutely right that we are not where we want to be. We are not where we should be. I have a couple of comments. First, these things take time. Let us be honest. The history of Irish investment in research and innovation is relatively short, at 20 to 25 years, compared with other countries that have been investing since after the Second World War. The other thing is that we will not be able to hit all the indicators. We have to play to our comparative advantages, which, frankly, are talent and collaboration. What should we be doing? We are significantly short of where we need to be on overall investment in both basic and applied research. We have done very well in the context of the part of the innovation scorecard that looks at how one translates all of the excellent fundamental research into useful collaborations and applications. That is an area we are performing well in. We perform well in talent development, although we have to invest in those involved and support them appropriately throughout their careers.

One of four big things involves scaling up our investment in fundamental research and in talented people and collectives of talented people. That lays down an investment with a rich yield over a long period. If we are not at the frontiers now, we will be searching to compete at the application stage in five or ten years. Continuing to invest in the mechanisms that support this, such as research centres and partnerships that translate that into benefits for the economy and society, is another issue. Significant investment in doctoral education and training to attract people in all disciplines into the practice of research is another issue. Many will practise research and innovation outside academia, but we need to train them within academia and in partnership with industry.

The other thing that is critically important for investment is infrastructure. If we are going to do good research, we have to have equipment and facilities. In areas such as health, the clinical trial infrastructure is needed to do research as well here as it is done anywhere else in the world.

The four things include investment in fundamental research, investment in people, investment in the partnerships that link that to enterprise and society and investment in the infrastructure to support all of this. There is no getting away from the fact that the fundamental thing that brings us down in those indicators is the quantum of public investment in the overall research system.