Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is something about which I am more than satisfied, given the ingenuity of the Irish people, the level of educational attainment in this country and our track record of working with industry and data on where the future skills needs and jobs will be.

As a country that looks outward at a time when others choose to look inward, and wants to build new links and do more together, Ireland is very well placed to be a leader in this regard, but nothing is guaranteed. It is going to take a lot of work and I think that is one of the reasons the Taoiseach and the Government were motivated to establish the Department as part of the programme for Government and to have for the first time ever a Cabinet Minister and a full Department dedicated to these issues. We have a lot of work to do.

The Covid pandemic has perhaps given us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be excited about science in the general population. I hope it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Children right across the country are talking about Luke O'Neill, vaccines and science. It has become very real very quickly. I hope many of them go on to study science and innovation in college.

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