Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

I apologise, a Cheann Comhairle, but the filling of this post, with a salary scale that breached the cap, was not a good thing and caused much concern at the time. In addition, much concern was expressed about the person who was given that job, in terms of his record in the private sector. This organisation is in charge of a multi-billion funding pot which is being steered in the direction of commerciality, and that is what this Bill is about, in part. For that reason, those at the helm must be the best people. When the appointments were made, the Minister of State with responsibility in this area, Deputy Sean Sherlock, spoke about putting people at the helm who had extensive commercial experience and what a tremendous coup it was for Ireland that we had gained this type of expertise. However, when one examines some of the activities that were undertaken in the private sector in Britain by this individual and his company, one would not really be inspired to think that this type of experience would benefit SFI, or indeed the Irish economy.

In some ways that may set the scene here, and it is key. When we look to extending the commercial remit of SFI, we must start by asking what research there has been into SFI's own investment portfolio to date, what sort of returns have been delivered and who has benefited from them. Substantial sums of taxpayers' money have been invested in the organisation, and this really gets to the heart of this debate. We all agree there can be no economic recovery in this State without the creation of jobs. Developments in science and technology which are being spearheaded by the State are a key that could unlock and benefit the economy in that regard. Investment in research and development can and should be a crucial part of that recovery. I believe we have an opportunity to develop matters in that way. The last Government spoke a great deal about the smart and green economy, which was utter rot considering what it actually did and the direction in which it took the economy forward. It spoke of this direction but implemented the opposite.

We have to start from the point of what is in the best interest of the economy and our current position. We face an incredible situation where people have been educated in this State, have substantial talents which we can tap for the benefit of society at large, but they are not being utilised. More than 100,000 qualified people lie idle on the dole queues, and 4,000 post-doctoral researchers are out of work. That represents expertise and skills that are not being tapped. There are enormous opportunities to put these people to work and to benefit from their expertise, tapping into it for the benefit of the whole economy.

What are the safeguards in this Bill that will lead us to believe this and to ensure the benefits of the investment in research return to the citizens and the State, rather than to the profits of a few or being siphoned off as a slush fund for the benefit of private companies? The reason we need to explore this further is quite clear. The Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, is on record as having stated the private sector does not fund research and development to an optimum level for economic and societal benefit. I completely agree with him. The private sector does not do so and if it refuses, as it has, to invest its profits in taking society forward and developing research and development, why should it profit in a partnership with the State from such research and development?

Why is the State not developing the valuable research it has commissioned? Why does it simply hand these ideas to private companies instead of taking a lead role in bringing them to fruition? The usual response is that we do not have the money but the European Investment Bank, EIB, exists precisely to solve that problem. There is no impediment to the State's ability to access the necessary funds. The EIB is prepared to match State funds on a 50:50 basis for strategic projects. We should explore the types of strategic project that could be developed and the talents and potential that can help turn around our economic situation.

This Bill will allow SFI to spend taxpayers' money outside the State for the first time. We will not provide employment for the nearly 500,000 people who are on the dole in Ireland by creating jobs in food factories in South America. If the State is in a position to take advantage of research and development opportunities why are we not using these opportunities to create tens of thousands of jobs? The reason I am concerned about what has been done thus far is precisely because of our experience to date with this organisation. What has been the return on the State's investment in research and development? When the knowledge base is patented, where is our guarantee that the State will recoup its investment? What level of commercial funding has been provided to date? The private sector has been engaging in an effective capital strike where investment in research and development is concerned.

The Bill permits SFI to move towards applied research but we need to know whether basic research will be funded as heretofore and how the benefits will accrue. I am not sure these questions have been answered or that the Government is strategically investigating the potential for investment. Instead, we have the ridiculous daily announcements of 20 jobs here, 30 jobs there and 100 jobs over the next 16 years. The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation appeared for the opening of a 24-hour McDonalds in my area. Is this the type of economy we are creating while good quality public sector jobs go unfilled and talented people linger on the dole? We need to be more creative and strategic. We might begin by following the example of this State in its early years, when it undertook a number of adventurous projects, such as the electrification schemes under the ESB and the development of Aer Lingus and transatlantic flights. It showed imagination in creating companies that provided quality employment and services over many decades. This is something the private sector has not managed to emulate.

There is great potential for using research and development in wind and wave energy to create employment in this State. Ireland has among the best conditions in the world for wave and wind energy. We should consider this potential against the backdrop of what has happened to date, however. The gains from Government funded research and scholarship have been syphoned off by private companies instead of benefiting the public. In the 1970s and 1980s wind energy research in Ireland, while limited, was in line with what was happened in similarly sized countries such as Denmark. The Irish Government of the time failed to tap into the potential for wind energy, whereas the Danish Government decided to focus on this area thereby allowing a country that started off from the same basis as Ireland to become a world leader in the production of wind towers and turbines. This has brought enormous benefits to the citizens of Denmark in terms of providing employment. Sadly, the Irish Government followed Mrs. Thatcher and the United States down the nuclear route and it abandoned the area of alternative energy.

We cannot afford to make that mistake again now that we are in the early stages of exploring the potential for wave power. I am not naive about this task. There is no doubt that the development of wave power will be a hugely expensive project requiring considerable investment but why should we lower our horizons of possibility? If people had taken that attitude to the electrification of Ireland and the early years of the ESB, this country would not have developed in the way it did. What made the difference was a State directed programme that was incredibly ambitious. Ireland was so far ahead of other countries that it was suggested we had lost the plot. It was a bold and daring initiative but it yielded results. There is no way on earth that wave power can be developed to its full potential if the job is left in private hands. Wavebob, the most promising private company working to harness wave energy, collapsed a couple of weeks ago despite an investment of €9 million. It was clearly too small to bring its plans to fruition. We will not exploit wave energy to its full potential through four or five small companies competing on projects worth a few million euro. In a context of approximately 4,000 post-doctoral researchers on the dole and students in our colleges studying sciences and engineering, why does the ESB not open up a research programme so that 500 engineers and scientists could be put to work in this area? The benefits are potentially enormous and there is no point in continuing to waste millions of euro on small private companies. We are being incredibly short-sighted in our current approach.

Wind power has given rise to considerable controversy in many rural communities. The way in which communities have been treated by these companies is disgraceful. There is no reason why they should alienate people in these communities or interfere with their quality of life. The harnessing of offshore wind energy is a viable and readily available alternative. There is no need to discommode people or destroy the landscape with wind turbines. Once again, we see State research being syphoned off to benefit the private sector and the Irish economy falling short of its job creation potential.

Companies involved in the wind power sector, for example, Airtricity, Mainstream Renewable Power and Element Power, are not engaged in any manufacturing or production. Their only function is to manage projects. If the State believes these private companies are so brilliant that we must have them managing our natural resources, which are owned by the people, it should allow them to manage the project, rather than handing over ownership of our natural resources to enable them to make profits while leaving the country and taxpayer with nothing.

It is critical that we invest in research and development. The current crisis provides an opportunity to tap into talent that is lying idle. Tinkering around at the edges will not suffice. What is required is vision and boldness and a realisation that jobs will not be created unless the State takes a lead in research and development. This is not propaganda or an ideological point but a fact based on many years' experience of austerity. Every week, 1,600 of our best, most talented and most creative young people are being driven from our shores by a lack of employment opportunities and a youth unemployment rate of more than 20%. Not only is this a criminal waste of their potential but it also robs the State and economy of the talent of these young people, which we should tap into by putting them to work.

It is fine to encourage research and development through Science Foundation Ireland but what the Bill proposes is to steer investment in the direction of the private sector, thus repeating the mistakes of the past. While it is appropriate to invest scarce taxpayers' money in research and development, it is not appropriate that this investment will be used to line the pockets of the few. We could instead benefit the many by pioneering investment in public works and other areas to create jobs.

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