Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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450. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the report (details supplied) which outlined the way the State is lagging in the global research race due to scares public spending on research, development and innovation over the past decade. [58498/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Direct public expenditure on Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) has been increasing in real terms since 2016, reaching an estimated €866.8m in 2020. This represents an increase of €147.9m over four years and is the highest level of public expenditure on RDI since 2009.

While this increase in public funding is welcome, I realise that it is not sufficient. Our RDI expenditure as a proportion of our overall Government expenditure has hovered below 1% for the past several years. Ireland lags behind the EU average and in particular behind EU innovation leaders such as Denmark, the Netherlands and Finland.

Ireland’s research intensity rate target is for RDI investment to reach 2.5% of GNP. In 2020, Ireland’s RDI intensity rate (which includes both business and public RDI expenditure) was an estimated 1.63% of GNP, or 1.23% of GDP.

A key challenge to closing the gap and reaching the RDI intensity rate target is the significant rate of increase in GNP compared to the RDI investment growth rate. From 2010 to 2020, GDP has increased by an estimated 123% in current values, GNP by 103% and GNI* by 62%. Over the same period, overall investment (both public and private) in RDI increased from €2.67bn to an estimated high of €4.6bn, an increase of 72%. Government budget allocations for Research & Development (GBARD) increased by an estimated 5.1%. The growth of the economy in the last decade has outpaced both increases in total investment in RDI and increases in public expenditure on RDI.

Ireland’s future economic growth and prosperity will depend in large measure on our continued investment in research, development and innovation. This investment is targeted at developing a high productivity, knowledge-based economy and society, driving innovation in enterprise, building human capital and maximising the return on RDI investment for economic and social progress.

The findings of the annual R&D Budget Survey are important to inform evidence-based policy making and in the preparation of the forthcoming National R&I Strategy 2021-2027. The Survey also supports various Government departments and agencies to inform their policies and to contextualise their activities. This year’s R&D Budget Survey, covering 2020-2021, will be published by my Department shortly.