Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

-----and I am sure there were pressures to give everyone a PhD at birth, so to speak, but they did not. They held the standards but we are not meeting the standards. This will have to by addressed by whoever holds the Minister of State's post in the future. I hope, with the best of good wishes, that the Minister of State will either retain his current position or obtain a higher-rated one. However, there are serious problems in this area that remain to be tackled. Innovation 2020 is open on that. It is an iterative process; it requires for more inputs from time to time.

We have made very serious adjustments downwards in funding of very important areas. The Minister of State has held the line on this one but it cannot continue unless we tackle the problems that exist.