Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is the lead Department for the European Union's seventh framework programme and from next year, significant funds will be made available from that programme. The Department of Agriculture and Food's role will come under the general theme of food, agriculture and biotechnology. The first call on the framework programme reflects many of the Irish research priorities in non-food crop research. The Department anticipates and is confident there will be successful Irish participation in the seventh framework programme.

As for the areas Deputy Upton correctly identified as having potential, the principal areas funded have included energy production, including bio-fuels, bioethanol and bio-mass production, as well as the use of waste heat. To date, funding under the Department's stimulus research programme has amounted to more than €3.5 million. I refer to bio-mass, miscanthus, willows, bioethanol and the entire field of the alternative use of crops and sustainable agriculture. The Department's stimulus research programme is particularly geared towards assisting such research in third level colleges and within industry. As Members are aware, there is a focus on the question of the need for alternative energy sources in the context of the Government's Green Paper. Moreover, considerable research funding will be devoted to the potential of those particular crops.

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