Address by Minister Micheál Martin at the Launch of Strategy for Science Technology and Innovation 2006-2013

on Sunday 18 June 2006

Is mór an chúis áthais dhom mar Aire Fiontar Trádála agus Fostaíochta an Stráitheis Eolaíochta, Teichneolaíochta agus Nualaíochta a chur i bhfeidm anseo inniu. Tá an Straitéis seo an tabhachtach ar fad is beidh dibhinní le fáil are feadh fada an lá ag an pobail go léir ón chuid obair atá á chriochniú againn inniu. Táim fíor bhuíoch do mo chomh Airí agus do na Staitseirbhísigh go léir a rinne ana chuid obair ar an stráitéis ar ár son. Bhí saor-mhargántaíochtí deacair againn ó am go h-am chun an chríoch a bhaint amach ach táim cinnte go bhfuil toradh maith faighte againn anois. 'Tosach maith, leath na h-oíbre' a deirann an seanfhocail. Táim cinnte go bhfuil tosach maith deánta againn leis an Stráitéis seo.

As Chairperson of the Cabinet Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation I am very pleased to present today the details of a strategy which has involved detailed work and cooperation throughout Government. It displays our commitment to the research agenda and the importance of achieving the transition to a knowledge economy. I would like to briefly outline the background to how we developed this Strategy, before providing some more detail about what it involves.

As the Taoiseach has said, the last nine years have seen a dramatic increase in the level and quality of research being carried out in Ireland. In 1997, the institutional, financial and policy commitment to research was quite simply absent. Since then, funding has been trebled and, crucially, we have put in place the agencies and programmes required to ensure that Ireland achieves and sustains excellence in research.

These initiatives have been independently evaluated by international experts and they have been shown to be well designed and delivering excellent research with value for taxpayers' money. Major investment decisions by companies such as Lucent Technologies, Wyeth and Guidant have come directly through the conditions created by the research programmes of SFI, PRTLI and the IDA. It has been demonstrated time and again that investment in research directly supports economic and social progress.

But we cannot stand still. We are a world centre for today's new industries - we must also make sure that we are a world centre for the new industries of tomorrow.

We are no longer competing for low-cost manufacturing investments. We want global companies to locate crucial parts of their business in Ireland, their European Headquarters, their Research and Development facilities. These companies want to locate their business in a society where innovation and creativity flourish, this strategy will ensure that Ireland will meet this need.

As it was once put; 'The only way to predict the future is to have power to shape the future'. That is what this Strategy is all about - making sure Ireland continues to shape its own future.

Preparation of the Strategy

Roughly a year and a half ago I put in train a process of turning the high-level targets of the R&D Action Plan into concrete initiatives. This has required the commitment of every Department and every agency involved in research. Extremely detailed analyses of programme capacities and future needs have been carried out and updated continuously. We have also incorporated the objectives outlined in the Enterprise Strategy, the report of the Small Business Forum, Agrivision 2010, the 4^th-level education initiative and various other developments.

Under the direction of Ned Costello and his team, senior officials from across Government have worked together to present the Cabinet Committee with various proposals. The different Ministers involved in the Committee have themselves participated in various planning sessions, culminating in this Strategy document which has been formally adopted by Government. It has been a genuinely cross-government initiative. It should also be noted that action did not stop while this process was going on, as can be seen in the funding provided in the last two budgets.

Core Targets

Our overall target is clear:

Ireland by 2013 will be internationally renowned for the excellence of its research, be at the forefront in generating and using new knowledge for economic and social progress, within an innovation driven culture

This Strategy is based on the core principal that we will siginificantly grow our world-class research capabilities. This will be reflected in numbers of researchers, levels of spending, support for knowledge transfer, the development of new sectoral programmes and a full range of other initiatives.

We are committed to delivering significant increases in research capacity, quality and output. This will be accompanied by increased levels of investment in our Higher Education Institutions, combined with renewal and reform. World-class research teams will be built and the output of our PhDs will be doubled. As part of this, we will remove obstacles to the mobility of researchers. This, when coupled with attractive funding opportunities, will make Ireland highly competitive in the international talent stakes.

Commercialisation

It's not enough just to carry out research, we also have to optimise the capture, protection and commercialisation of ideas and expertise. We will strengthen the Intellectual Property/Commercialisation functions within Higher Education Institutes and providing appropriate centralised expertise to those bodies which need it. Coupling these efforts will ensure that the knowledge capture problem is comprehensively addressed for the first time.

Industrial Research

A healthy research culture has to involve companies themselves as participants. The strategy is clear about the types and levels of support that must be given to the most significant drivers of our economic well being, namely manufacturing and internationally traded services firms. Whilst different challenges face enterprises in both sectors, through the development agencies we will bring about a transformational change to company attitudes to R&D. We will grow business expenditure on R&D to €2.5bn by 2013. Such an achievement will be very much in line with the terms of the EU's Lisbon goals and will place Ireland in the vanguard of countries addressing knowledge issues.

Awareness raising, simplifying procedures, enhancing soft supports and increased company/Higher Education collaboration are some of the initiatives that will be driven by the Strategy. We will also support appropriate infrastructural investment in competence centres and ensure that Ireland provides a highly attractive environment in which to conduct advanced industrial research. In addition, the new Technology Ireland will ensure a coordinated coherent approach to meeting companies' needs. Having introduced the R&D tax credit, we will review it to ensure that it continues to support research intensive activity in Ireland.

Schools & Public Awareness

We also recognise the importance of science in primary and secondary schools as well as the need to promote interest in science across all elements of society. Work has already begun in terms of syllabus development but a lot more needs to be done. The Strategy outlines clearly what will be done in terms of curriculum reform, investment in professional awareness, guidance and technical assistance to support science in the educational system. All this will be supplemented by the work of Discover Science and Engineering, the Government's integrated science awareness programme, which will also develop a transition year programme designed to promote science to students about to enter the school leaving cycle.

Sectoral Research

There will also be concerted action in areas outside of Enterprise and Education. Initiatives in the areas of agriculture and food, health, environment, marine and energy will be undertaken under the Strategy ranging from sustainable agriculture through to smart grids and from climate change and biodiversity through to improving medical treatments. These issues are of ever increasing importance to us all and the provision, under the Strategy, of a competitive fund to encourage excellent research in these areas will further develop the world-class name of Irish researchers in these sectors.

Cross-Border and International Cooperation

The world of knowledge does not respect lines on the map and this is why the Strategy deals extensively with the international and all island aspects of the research agenda. Transnational research brings real benefits to Ireland by promoting excellence and avoiding unnecessary duplication. The Strategy establishes key metrics against which our performance in these areas will be measured. It also challenges us to make best use of cross-border links. The EU's commitment to research is growing steadily and therefore facilitating access for Irish researchers to EU Framework Programme Funding is a critical part of this engagement. It is an area where the All Island bodies, established under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, will play a significant role.

Cross border collaboration brings real benefits to the whole Island of Ireland. We already have clear evidence from the three-way US/Ireland partnership that when we work together we can and do deliver for the benefit of all. Work on cancer, cystic fibrosis and diabetes are other very concrete examples of this.

Implementation & Coordination

As I have said, the Strategy has been prepared on the basis of a whole of Government approach to the issues. The whole of Government approach is being repeated in the preparation by the Minister for Finance of the forthcoming NDP of which research is a central plank. We are determined that we will continue to work in a cooperative and integrated way. The Cabinet Sub-Committee will continue to oversee work in the area and direct the activities of the senior officials. It will oversee and hold to account the significantly revised structures outlined in the Strategy. These will ensure that key metrics are delivered and that money flows to the areas which are most deserving. Underachievement is not an option if we are to continue to succeed in our ever-more globalised world.

Funding

The challenge is great. The cost is also substantial - coming in at roughly €3.8bn over the lifetime of the strategy. This involves securing and significantly expanding existing base-plans, which were themselves placed at historically high levels in December's Budget. Total Government expenditure on the plan will amount to €2.7billion by 2008. The Minister for Finance has made the appropriate financial provisions to facilitate this. This compares with €2.5 billion for the 6-year period 2000-2006.

This will mean that programmes can begin to be implemented, competitions held and action start on the ground. As I said before, this is also believed to be such a sufficiently important area that it will be included as a major plank in the new National Development Plan. We should also note, that this money is in addition to the €900 million announced last year in the Budget speech for the development of 4^th level education.

This is an area which doesn't rate high on most political agendas - it's not a topic which you find on the front pages every day. However, we believe that it is fundamental to delivering a prosperous future for this country. That is why we feel we must deliver this Strategy.

Conclusions

This Strategy will help secure enterprise competitiveness, quality employment and economic success. It sets hugely ambitious targets, but shows how they will begin to be achieved, starting today. From a standing start only a few years ago, major advances have been achieved - but we are now ready to accelerate further. This Strategy shows how Ireland will become, within the next decade, a location renowned for its research - generating and using new knowledge to promote and sustain progress to the benefit of all. In effect we will once again become an isle of world renowned scholars delivering economic and social well being through the combination of the skills of our people and policies that work with them.

http://www.djei.ie/science/technology/sciencestrategy.htm

ENDS

ETE 1591a