John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It would be remiss of me not to agree with the Deputy on this. I believe we should be investing more in research and development. The difficulty is we have come from a tight fiscal space and five years of recession. It is always difficult to decide on which areas to place funding to boost the economy or deliver sustainability. While the 2018 allocation of €14 million is small compared with other years, as the Deputy knows there are historical liabilities with cycle 5, which are close to being paid down in full. This comes to €10 million to the HEA, Higher Education Authority. In line with the specific action of Innovation 2020, a successor to cycle 5 is being scoped out through Science Foundation Ireland.

The Government is aware of that driving innovation, research and development is of paramount importance with the advancement of technology over the next 20 years. However, in 2008 public expenditure in research funding peaked at €930 million but it was substantially cut through the years, even when Fianna Fáil was in government. While the public will want investment in housing, education, health and so forth, we must also be a driving force in innovation. It would be difficult for me not to agree with the Deputy on that.

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