Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to share time with Deputies O'Donovan and English, with the agreement of the House.

I very much agree with Deputy Naughten's points regarding the importance of science and innovation, of ensuring that new products are brought to the market and of supporting applied research. I welcome the publication of this Bill and congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, on the good work he is doing in this area in the Department of Education and Science. The science sector contributes substantially to our economy. The role of research in our economy is extremely important and we must continue to invest in creation and innovation if we are to compete in the global marketplace.

I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate BT on its continuing support for the Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, which gives schools throughout Ireland a wonderful opportunity to bring new sciences and ideas for improving people's day-to-day lives to the attention of various manufacturers and companies. There have been some excellent projects in that competition over the years.

This Bill provides for the extension of the remit of Science Foundation Ireland, SFI, to enable applied research to be funded. Applied research is carried out by companies to bring products and services to market and must be encouraged. Many companies have ideas to generate employment opportunities in this sector but they need financial support to get those ideas off the ground. That is why it is so important that the banks take risks and support companies that have new and innovative ideas.

The Bill makes provision for a new function to enable SFI to promote and support an awareness and understanding of science, technology, engineering and maths. The foundation will take over the delivery of the Discover Science and Engineering, DSE, programme from Forfás. Although it is important that the remit of SFI is extended to enable it to fund applied research, the provision of funding for orientated basic research should also continue. Some Deputies have expressed concerns that orientated basic research will be under-funded as a consequence of more money being spent on applied research. Orientated basic research is carried out with the expectation that it will produce a broad base of knowledge likely to form the basis of the solution to recognised or expected current or future problems or possibilities. However, I am confident that it is not the case that such research will be under-funded. In January of this year SFI announced a fund of €60 million to cover basic research and to ensure that talented scientists in this field remain in this country and contribute their vast knowledge to projects here. Emigration is an issue in this area and we must try to retain our best and brightest and SFI's commitment will enable us to do that.

Scientific research is extremely important as the knowledge gained in the area can be adopted for use in other fields, including enterprise and exports. This, in turn, will generate income for the country and improve standards of living nationally. Ireland is recognised internationally for its positive approach to investment in science and for its success in climbing the world rankings in the field so quickly. At present, the Government has a core research budget of €500 million, which is a sizeable amount of money given the economic constraints under which we are currently operating. Investment in science, technology and innovation has increased significantly since 2000. Before that time, there was little investment in these areas and Ireland was not competing globally. We are now ranked 20th in the world for our research capability, which represents a jump of 16 places since 2003. I am confident that this Bill will ensure that our world rankings improve even further.

A key part of the Government's action plan for jobs is to promote research and development in the sciences and to build an economy that is focused on innovation. It is clear that we will need engineering, science and mathematics graduates to take up the jobs that will be created in the future. That is why it is so important that career guidance teachers are aware of the emerging trends and of where their students are likely to find employment after graduating. They must encourage and promote science, maths and engineering and ensure that students study relevant subjects at third level so that they can fill the vacancies that will arise in the future.

Ireland has built up a reputation in recent years for world-class scientific research. There is significant potential to build on this and to expand further in this area. Our real aim must be to increase employment in these areas and to ensure that there is a future work force in the sciences to help Ireland become a hub for scientific research.

A number of priority areas for research have been identified by Science Foundation Ireland, SFI, including remote health care, smart energy grids, manufacturing and business service and sustainable food production. The main research areas in which Irish researchers excel currently are nanotechnology and material science, and Deputy Naughten spoke about the great developments in the computer and microchip area. Intel Ireland is a massive employer, with 4,500 people working for the company, and there has been great progress made through the years in reducing the size of chips for computers and even for telephones. Equipment is certainly getting smaller and better, which is crucial.

We need to build on our strengths and target future investment in areas that benefit our current and future economic needs. I am confident that the Government is aware of this and following that plan. I am very encouraged by the recognition that Ireland should see itself as a global player in the sector and we should strive to be in the top ten countries for scientific research in the world. Scientific research provides significant opportunity to generate further employment for the country and ensure greater foreign direct investment into Ireland. During these difficult economic times, the Government recognises the importance of delivering a return on scientific investment and is striving to turn this investment into employment opportunities. We know value for money is crucial and we must achieve that, and by investing in research we are ensuring a bright future for the country.

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