Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Does the Minister accept that in the past the reason for foreign direct investment was that such companies had the technical know-how and money and that in our early industrial history we did not even have the educational back-up? Does she also accept that in terms of education our graduates, working both at home and abroad, are as good as any in the world and that many of them have experience working in the high-tech sector? To get industries up and running we need money and we need to attract and encourage our graduates to develop these industries. The Minister referred to investment of €250,000. If she had experience in the financial world, she would know that in industrial terms €250,000 is a small amount. What steps are being taken to ensure that there will be adequate, real finance available to start-ups, incubation business in, for example, the universities and people who have already worked in the high-tech sector, to take them to viable status? The sum of €250,000 is too small an amount in terms of investment to get them to that stage.

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