Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I missed the discussion on the Deputy's previous question about the survey. For the purposes of the survey of research and development in the higher education sector 2012-13, which is conducted by my Department and previously by Forfás, basic research includes pure and oriented basic research. The figure of 50.9% of the HERD budget spent on basic research in the 2012-13 period included pure basic and oriented basic research. This categorisation is in line with the definitions and requirements set out by the OECD. The OECD categorisations of research to be used by respondents to the HERD survey are set out in the Frascati manual.

Total expenditure on research and development in the higher education sector amounted to €640 million in 2012. Of this, 50.9% - €326 million - was spent on basic research, 43.4% - €278 million - was spent on applied research and 5.7% - approximately €36 million - was spent on experimental research.

The Frascati manual definition of basic research is: "Basic research is experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge of the underlying foundations of phenomena and observable facts, without any particular application or use in view." Basic research analyses properties, structures and relationships with a view to formulating and testing hypotheses, theories or laws. The reference to no "particular application or use in view" is crucial, as the performer may not know about actual applications when doing the research or responding to survey questionnaires. The results of basic research are not generally sold, but are usually published in scientific journals or circulated to interested colleagues. Occasionally, basic research may be classified for security reasons.

In basic research, scientists have some freedom to set their own goals. Such research is usually performed in the higher education sector, but also to some extent in the government sector. Basic research can be oriented or directed towards some broad fields of general interest, with the explicit goal of a broad range of applications in the future. One example is the public research programmes on nanotechnology, which several countries have decided on. Firms in the private sector may also undertake basic research with a view to preparing for the next generation of technology. Through many of our research centres, particularly the one in Cork, we are bringing enterprise and the State together to carry out this research.

See this speech in context