James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy. I intend for the funding to support the entire sector. The Deputy mentioned some figures. I would also be a bit concerned by the current level of our research and development spending as a percentage of GDP. We need to increase that. The private sector is spending a lot, so public sector spending needs to increase. That will be reflected in what I am hoping to achieve through the national development plan, in terms of increased infrastructural spending across the research and education ecosystems, further and higher education and the entire tapestry. That is the building block that everything else is based on, if we have those systems right. It is part of the wider base and I will elaborate on that further over the coming months, but I intend to use the national development plan as part of the springboard for those projects.

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