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

I put down the question in the context of PRTLI. I am aware of the good work Science Foundation Ireland does and have met the chief executive, Mr. Mark Ferguson, recently and complimented on the fantastic work he does. I am aware of his ambitious plans to link with top universities in the UK to allow them to benefit from ERC type grants. However, PRTLI is not a Science Foundation fund; it is a separate fund for a separate purpose and covers different institutions. The Minister said the budget for 2017 is €14.4 million and was €30.4 million in 2016. The 2017 budget of €14.4 million is derisory for a fund that started off in the hundreds of millions. That is where it was targeted and that is where it was. Science Foundation Ireland is a great institution, but it is no substitute for PRTLI. I hope we will see a vastly increased budget on €14.4 million in the announcement shortly of cycle 5 of PRTLI. If we are serious about attracting top talent across all the disciplines and universities, including the humanities, we must get serious about PRTLI and third level funding. Science Foundation Ireland does great work, but it is not a substitute for everything else.

See this speech in context