Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

On the education issue, I do not mean more is not to be done. I stated that European universities get bad coverage because they are not listed among the top universities. There is a need for more resources and more people. World leaders of all faculties come from European universities and have done incredibly well in building up the business. That is the only point. As more of our young people go to university, more money is required for research and development. We invested hundreds of millions in PRTLI and Science Foundation Ireland and that must continue.

The EU meeting was not like the summer or autumn meetings. It was a debate on the challenges facing Europe today, and examined economic challenges such as whether Germany will get off the ground again economically and the problems in the French economy. It considered a broad view of China and India, as not only Europe but countries throughout the world are increasingly concerned about the strides they make. We identified it many years ago. The reality is they turn out more highly qualified people from their universities. More people carry out research and they receive investment from all over the world. This makes them far stronger. All of those issues were discussed.

Energy issues are taken into account because of costs, particularly this year when energy prices increased by approximately 20% everywhere. Concerns were expressed about that, and on issues surrounding ongoing needs for energy resources, such as gas from Russia. The nuclear issue was not discussed in great detail but it is raising its head and it seems the British Government will go down that road again. It is a strong supporter of nuclear energy. The former German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroder, went a different direction and closed nuclear energy stations. I do not know what the new Chancellor, Angela Merkel, will do. The French believe in it and continue to invest in it. They do not believe in anything else.

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