Fiona O'Malley (Dún Laoghaire, Progressive Democrats)

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this matter on the Adjournment. This is Science Week Ireland and it should not go unobserved in the Dáil. One of the most interesting aspects of budget 2006 was the announcement of the strategic innovation fund for fourth level education. Investment in intellectual capital has been a hallmark of our economic prosperity and has brought us to where we are today. The establishment of the strategic initiative fund is a clear expression on the part of Government of the important role it plays in the process of learning, learning at the pinnacle of inquiry. This is investment at the cutting edge, the research and development sector.

Complacency is the single biggest threat facing our economy. External forces of change have required us to surmount ever higher hurdles to sustain success. Our economy has moved from a low cost one to one where added value is now a necessity. While we continue to generate more jobs than can be filled, the type of job has changed significantly from those in the manufacturing sector to those supporting Ireland's knowledge economy. The basis for future growth and prosperity is investment in that knowledge economy. The strategic innovation fund is a sound bedrock to underpin this goal.

Exploration, innovation and inquiry are the essence of science. The enterprise strategy group report, Ahead of the Curve, clearly identifies that this is where our competitive advantage and future lie. It is in the schools and science labs of today that the foundation of Ireland's future economic success is built. Government has shown leadership, but there is more to do. We must support an environment which facilitates collaboration between enterprise and academia. Internationally, public support for business sector research and development has moved strongly towards co-operative research. The institutes of technology are very well placed to support innovative enterprise through technical consulting and collaboration on close-to-market research projects. In my constituency, the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art and Design is particularly proactive on this front.

Climate change offers Ireland limitless opportunities in finding solutions to the challenges it presents. Research in biofuels and alternative renewable energies are areas where Ireland could be a world leader given our geographic location which provides optimum conditions for wind turbines and the growth of biomass. These are areas where scientific inquiry is at an early stage and I have often said we could be the global research and development capital of renewable energies. This is an ambition which the strategic innovation fund could help Ireland realise.

While it is understandable that responsibility for science currently resides in the Department of Education and Science, there is an argument for transferring this responsibility in the next administration into the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Given the strategic change in direction which Ireland is required to make to keep the economy progressing, this is an idea worth considering. Given the obvious role science will play at the heart of this new strategy, in addition to the importance of fostering our entrepreneurial spirit, a base in our Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment would make most sense.

Science will be the fulcrum of Ireland's economic growth, investment in science today means a strong economy tomorrow. As politicians that is what we should be providing for future generations.

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