Vol. 536 No. 4
211 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science if he is satisfied that universities receive sufficient funds to conduct research in the public interest and are not unduly beholden to research funding from commercial interests which have agendas which may not coincide at all times with the public interest. [14502/01]
Since this Government came into office, there has been an unprecedented increase in dedicated funding for research available to third level institutions. The first dedicated block of funding, £5 million, was introduced in 1998. Under the National Development Plan 2000-2006, the Government is providing £550 million to support research, technological development and innovation in the third level sector. The aim is to support the development of a world class research environment in higher education in Ireland through four sub-measures designed to help to improve the research skills and capacity of third level institutions; raise the quality of teaching and learning activities in the institutions; increase the availability of highly skilled researchers in the labour force; provide greater scope for collaboration between education and other sectors of the economy in respect of research.
Research is also funded as part of the annual core grant to the universities, which has increased by more than 20% from £165 million in 1997 to £207 million in 2000. In addition, universities may apply for research funding under other areas of the National Development Plan including the £560 million Technology Foresight Initiative.
I recognise that third level institutions have a vital role to play in supporting the activities of the private sector through commercial research. However, I am satisfied that the significantly increased level of support available from the State for research in third level institutions outlined above means that universities are not unduly reliant on research funding from commercial interests.
