Donie Cassidy (Fianna Fail)

I have always asked whether there is a paper that will give us half a page of good news per day or a radio station that will give 15 minutes, or a television channel, with the exception of the programme "Nationwide", which we see on our screens three times a week, to tell the success story of the real Ireland and the transformation that has come about. The Taoiseach, when he leaves Ireland, is admired abroad for what he has done over the last ten years as is Ireland for its achievements, over the last 20 years. Everyone comes here to see how the Irish have done it. I do not know whether there is an agenda, and I often tell my friends I do not know one wealthy journalist. I knew one, the late John Healy, but no one else. God rest him, he has gone on to his eternal reward. If one cannot do it for oneself, how can one tell others to do it? If one has the will and determination, it is bound to happen if one lives in Ireland as one's turn will come.

With regard to the past 20 years, I pay tribute to Ray MacSharry, the late Charles J. Haughey and Michael Mullen because they gave us the national understanding in 1987 which stopped all the strikes. Those of us who were Members of the Oireachtas in those days know that every Wednesday we had strike after strike. Everyone was up in arms over the lower rate of income tax of 35%, a higher rate of 65% and a 2% health levy. No one could survive. Is it any wonder we had the black economy. Anyone who kept a business going in that time deserves a gold medal for endeavour. We did it and we are where we are today with a tremendous success story. It has been discussed from the high heavens and I wanted to state it today.

As the former Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business who held the post for the previous five years, I visited many places throughout the world. I was uplifted with what Enterprise Ireland did under the stewardship of Frank Ryan, its chief executive and one of the finest men I ever met who was associated with a Government agency. If the Minister of State listens to Frank Ryan and goes with Enterprise Ireland to South Africa, Canada, the United States, India, China, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Riyadh, he will see the challenges facing Ireland. I visited all of these places as Chairman of the committee.

I salute the teaching profession and those teachers who gave of their time over generations and decades to give us the vibrant economy we have today. It was transformed through education, free travel and third level institutes. It is on this subject I wish to speak. Ireland's future over the next 20 years relies on the success of third level institutes such as those in Letterkenny, Sligo, Athlone and Carlow. The poor man's child and middle to lower income earners' sons and daughters got to where they are today because of third level institutes. The institute of technology in Athlone has 6,500 students and is thriving. Long may it continue.

I visited Waterloo University, approximately 20 miles outside Toronto in Canada. This is where BlackBerry technology was created. I met two of the three young men who created it and one of their fathers given them a loan of 100,000 Canadian dollars. The area in Waterloo to which they went is now Waterloo University. They reversed the policy of universities in other parts of the world, including Ireland and Europe, whereby one signs over one's rights as a scientific innovator and if one creates something, one gets a percentage back. In Waterloo University, if one creates something, one owns the intellectual property in perpetuity and leases back a portion of it to the university.

If the institutes of technology were to adopt this policy, not alone would we attract the best brains in Ireland who want to own their intellectual property but also the best brains of Europe. The greatest success in the United States and Canada is at Waterloo University where one can own one's intellectual property. This is where the future of Ireland lies with regard to research and development and intellectual property.

The Government should consider increasing the points system for mathematics and science to encourage students into these areas because it is where future jobs lie. Perhaps the Minister of State would intervene to persuade the Minister for Education and Science to examine this. It was stated at a meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party that this is an important area into which students should be encouraged. Multinationals will locate where the student brain pool exists and this is how Enterprise Ireland, the IDA and the Department will persuade people to stay.

I wish the Minister of State all the luck in the world and I look forward to his many future visits to the Seanad. I hope to participate in future debates. We will help in any way we can with our experience which cannot be bought.