Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

It is important to point out that we have learned lessons as we have sought to address this area. Unfortunately, ten or 15 years ago we were providing little or no money into this area. It is now a significant part of investment. On the question of Science Foundation Ireland being set up, I note how highly credible is the good peer review that goes on there and how well it is regarded. All of the PRTLI investment has been relatively recent, in the past decade or decade and a half. This innovation is now about how we commercialise research and development and how we assist start-up companies because it is only those companies who can move forward, innovate and reposition themselves which will be able to be in business. These might be different businesses than what they were originally when they were founded.

Adding value and providing greater productivity through innovation is the means by which we can effect recovery in many respects. That is not simply about science laboratories and PhDs; it is about the culture of innovation right across the economy and the need for everybody, in whatever work they do and however mundane the service they provide, to look at how we deliver service and how we can do so in a more streamlined, effective and efficient way. It is as important an agenda for the public service as it is for the private sector. In fact, it is a hugely important agenda and the transforming public services project is about trying to inculcate that culture of innovation constantly as a matter of course, moving beyond organisational boundaries and getting people to co-ordinate and work together. That is what innovation is about. It is about doing things better and more efficiently and getting greater productivity for the amount of resources being applied. There may be cases in which initiatives fail or are not as successful as we had hoped. That is the nature of risk-taking. There is no guarantee of success for every initiative that seeks to develop innovation or technology. Some technology companies fail; some prosper and become multinationals. That is the nature of the risk. We must ensure we manage risk in the context of using public moneys but we must also be prepared to take a chance in certain areas in an effort to achieve success and contribute to good outcomes.

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