Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I had great difficulty in deciding whether to vote for the motion or the amendment. If I have to vote for one, I think the motion is slightly better than the amendment. We need to examine a number of issues.

The Minister spoke at length about research and development but if he was in his previous job and examined the OECD report on third-level education, he would have seen that in recent times our investment in research and development is still way behind the European average. Two thirds of investment in research and development in third-level institutions comes from foreign-owned companies. That is a major problem. The Minister said our future is in added intellectual value, and I agree with him completely. The OECD report showed that Ireland has the lowest level of doctoral students in the EU, which is a matter of concern. It is also a major indictment of the Government that there is no university in the State north of a line between Dublin and Galway. I spoke in the House yesterday about the lack of vision in the OECD report. Senator Ormonde was in the House at the time. One of my concerns related to the complete lack of any discussion on e-learning and e-universities. The Minister agreed with me. The first advertisement I heard this morning just after the 6.30 a.m. news was one for the OU business college.