Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

That reply is practically identical to one I received from the previous Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, on 30 June 2004. I would not have submitted the question if I thought I would receive the same reply, because it is already on the record. I submitted the question again because I wanted to know what progress has been made since June 2004. I presume the answer is none, because if there had been progress, I may have received a different response to my question today.

As the OECD report has since been published, my question does not relate to that. That report pointed out a number of aspects, including the fact that we are engaged in a catching-up process that will require sustained investment over a long period. The task force on physical sciences should have been the beginning in this regard. If progress has not been made in the last six months in implementing the recommendations, rather than quoting what has happened following the report, how does the Minister intend to progress the remaining recommendations? Some progress has been made on 25 of the recommendations but there has been no progress on 14 of the recommendations, ten of which are the responsibility of her Department. How does the Minister intend to go forward with the implementation of the task force?

See this speech in context