Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 178: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the plan in place to support PhD students following on from a report by the advisory council for science, technology and innovation that highlighted the importance of PhDs in the smart economy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3430/10]

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Having regard to the significant increase in the number of PhD graduates in Ireland in recent years and the Government's objective to have more researchers in the enterprise sector, the Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (ACSTI) was requested to examine the skills that enterprise requires from 4th level Ireland, to review the role in enterprise that is filled by PhD graduates and to identify the barriers that reduce the attraction of graduates to enterprise. The Council published its report in December last.

The Council's report highlights the benefits that PhD graduates bring to firms and sheds much light on the role they can play as we strive to build Ireland's knowledge economy. The Council's recommendations form a strategy for the alignment of skills with enterprise needs. The report recommends that Ireland should continue to develop PhD qualifications and skills closely aligned with broader economic and social needs. Given the concentration of demand for advanced researcher skills in specific sectors, funding for structured PhD programmes should be broadly aligned with the sectors of the economy, both public and private, where there is evidence of demand, or expected demand.

The Council recommends that structured PhD programmes should impart both generic and discipline-specific skills in the education and training of PhD students. They also recommend that Higher Education Institutes should adopt systematic and formal consultation with employers in the development of such structured PhD programmes at discipline level within the institutions.

The Council recommends the introduction of an Industrial PhD model whereby an employee of enterprise earns their PhD based on research relevant to their company. The objectives of the programme would be to upskill researchers working in R&D active enterprise, to build know-how, knowledge dissemination and interaction between academic and research institutions and enterprises. The Council further recommends that, beginning with the PhD education and training period and continuing through to early postdoctoral research stage, there should be an integrated programme of support and training specifically targeted at PhD students to enable them to commercialise their research.

Capacity to produce graduates with advanced researcher skills will be critical in expanding the mandate of foreign multinationals already located here and attracting globally mobile R&D investment. Restoring competitiveness to indigenous enterprise requires the stimulation of R&D intensity and the adoption of appropriate technologies.

It is essential, therefore, that the Coucil recommendations are advanced as we continue to put in place the foundations of the smart economy. Responsibility for implementing the Council recommendations will fall to my Department, the Department of Education and Science and agencies that report to both Departments. To ensure that a coordinated approach is taken in this matter and that all stakeholders are mobilised for delivery, the recommendations are being taken forward via the implementation structures of the Government's Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation 2006-2013, with a view to their early and thorough implementation. This process will also have regard to any agreed initiatives emerging from the Innovation Task Force which might touch upon the same issues. That report is expected to be completed and published shortly.