Pat Upton
Question:167 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Health the number of people, full-time equivalents, who are engaged in medical research in this country; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Medical Research.
Pat Upton
Question:168 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Health the amount of money spent on medical research by his Department and by other agencies over the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Pat Upton
Question:169 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the value of investment in appropriate scientific medical research as a means of attracting drug companies to locate in this country.
I propose taking Questions Nos. 167 to 169, inclusive, together.
Medical research is carried out by third level institutions, hospitals and private companies. Some information on medical research, including numbers employed, is collected by EOLAS. Overall figures on the numbers engaged in medical research are not available but EOLAS publishes some relevant information in its "Survey of Research in the Higher Education Sector". The most recent figures relate to 1990 and are set out in Table 1.
TABLE 1
R & D Manpower in the Medical Sciences, Higher Education Sector: 1990 (Full Time Equivalents).
|
Researchers |
Technicians |
Other |
Postgraduate Students |
Total |
|
169.7 |
19.1 |
8.6 |
133 |
330.4 |
The Health Research Board, HRB, the State agency primarily responsible for medical research, directly funds the employment of 121 people in medical research at present. This figure includes postgraduate students on HRB scholarships. In addition, 114 people work on HRB funded projects who are not paid by the board. However, it is likely that there is a large element of double counting between the EOLAS figures and those of the HRB. It is not, therefore, possible to estimate a combined employment figure under these two headings.
It should also be borne in mind that a very large proportion of those engaged in medical research either work in hospitals or in the private industry for which limited information is available. For example, EOLAS records in itsBusiness Expenditure on Research and Development, 1991 a total of 638 persons employed in the pharmaceutical industry in that year — 381 researchers, 187 technicians and 70 support staff.
State funding for medical research is channelled through the HRB which is funded by a grant from my Department.
Funding over the past five years is set out in Table 2.
TABLE 2
Grant from Department of Health to HRB: 1989-1993
|
Year |
£m. |
|
1989 |
1.3 |
|
1990 |
1.3 |
|
1991 |
1.63 |
|
1992 |
1.7 |
|
1993 |
1.775 |
The HRB's 1994 allocation is £2.303 million and this represents an increase of 30 per cent over the 1992 figure.
It should be noted that HRB spending is not limited to its Department grant: it supplements its grant from its own resources and with external funding. The HRB also assists Irish researchers who seek international funding. This assistance significantly increased the number of Irish researchers who gained funding under the EC BIOMED Programme in 1992.
Medical research in acute hospitals is also funded through my Department. This funding forms an integral part of medical education and health care provision but is not separately identified within the individual acute hospital's allocation.
Medical research carried out in Ireland is of a high standard and is internationally recognised. Its benefits are many: it advances the standards of both medical education and medical care, it provides challenging employment for some of our brightest people and this, in turn, builds up a level of skill and expertise which can serve as a means of attracting both international research funding and industry such as international drug companies to this country.