Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I was not party to the discussion on Committee Stage. It seems there is a question over at least some of our research and development spending and that its commercialisation is the issue. We have very highly trained academics who, forever and a day, would engage in blue sky research and so on. However, I do not know of any report - it may well have been done - that has attempted to quantify the extent of commercialisation of that work. Does the Minister have any sympathy for the central proposition here, which seems to be to move it on to that area rather than simply giving reliefs for companies to invest in research and development?

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