Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)

I welcome the Government's investment in the research centres. I will pick up on Deputy Tóibín's point. I understand the Minister of State is new in the brief, but I imagine he did not pick up on the three areas of biotechnology, nanotechnology and high value manufacturing. Evidence from around the world shows that governments, even with the best interests, are incredibly bad at choosing areas in which the private sector should invest. There are many examples of failure from all over the world in this regard. On the basis that the Minister of State was given these three areas, I encourage him to look hard at why and how they were chosen. Were they chosen by the private sector companies which were going to have to commercialise operations in them or were they chosen by Government bodies or quangos which concluded they were good areas in which to invest? The Minister of State should look closely at why they were chosen and encourage the participation of the private sector in choosing the areas in which research will be developed.

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