James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and note his support for Science Foundation Ireland, a Fianna Fáil initiative and a very successful one.

The question remains unanswered, unless I misunderstood something in the answer. We are attempting to attract researchers and scientists and people of such professions into industry and into the country to begin their programmes. Without the specific funding targets and funding dates, these people cannot be brought in. The culture does not exist to attract them. This is an industry that by its very nature is very dependent on human capital, human resources, people and their families. They are highly mobile and we want them to relocate into this jurisdiction. In order to do that, we must tell them by what dates they must apply, when they will find out about their application, for how long they will be engaged, whether it is a multi-annual programme and where they stand. While I agree with the Minister of State's comments on the sector and how important it is - that is taken as a given - I have not yet heard a date or an implementation programme. When will the grants and the research be announced, by when must applicants apply and how does that happen? These are the real, hard figures and facts that we need for this to move forward.

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