Talk at DCU President's Research Awards
Talk at DCU President's Research Awards
Date: 04 February 2009
Continuing to invest in science and technology will help us out of recession, says Chief Scientific Adviser
Targeted spending will boost the economy
The Chief Scientific Adviser Professor Patrick Cunningham has said the Government and business should “hold their nerve” and continue to invest in science and technology despite the economic pressure to cut budgets.
Speaking at the Presidents’ Research Awards in DCU today, the Chief Scientific Adviser Prof Patrick Cunningham said such investment in the past decade had served us well. Ireland has come from behind and is now up to the average position among the 15 States who have been EU members for the longest period.
“A strong science base protects economies during a downturn, and allows them recover quickly when global conditions change”, he said. “Our vision is to lift Ireland into a position among the leading countries such as Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark and Finland. These countries have broad-based, resilient modern economies. Their steadiness in these difficult times reflects the level of education - including advanced science education - that they have as well as the wide range of sophisticated services and products on which their prosperity is based.
“In Ireland we have made good progress in recent years and we have doubled the science base of the country. Government investment in science and technology has risen from €518m in 2003 to €1030m in 2008. The number of researchers in the country has gone from 2,300 in 2000 to 4,690 in 2006. The IDA reported 56 inward R&D investments worth €420m in 2008, up from €50m in 2003. This progress has brought Ireland up to an average position in the EU 15, but well behind the leaders. We still have some way to go.”
Such investment must continue but must of course be well targeted, well spent and well accounted for, he went on. “Two thirds of the total national investment in science and technology is in fact carried out by business. Two thirds of that in turn is done by the multinationals present here. These firms will make their own decisions and evaluations, but retaining and growing these firms requires much more than tax advantages and competitive labour costs.”
To stay competitive, Irish owned firms also need to invest in science, technology and innovation. Many already do – Enterprise Ireland is supporting R&D activities in more than 600 local companies of which 42 each spend over €2m per year on R&D.
One third of our total investment is taxpayers’ money, amounting to over €1bn in 2008. “During the tough few years ahead, we need to ensure that this is well spent”, he went on. “ Since over 60% of it goes to the higher education sector, mainly to our seven Universities, they have a special responsibility to ensure value for money, and delivery of the internationally competitive quality by which research must be judged.”
In that context, the Chief Scientific Adviser welcomed the recent announcement by the Minister for Education of the National Strategy on Higher Education.
Finally, Dublin will be the European City of Science in 2012. That will be the most significant focus for science in Europe in that year. The period of preparation will be an opportunity to reinforce our national commitment to a future based on education, and on the creation and purposeful use of new knowledge. It will also be a once in a generation opportunity for Ireland to establish and claim its place in the world of science.
ENDS