I thank you, a Chathaoirligh, for giving me the opportunity to raise this matter. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, for attending this evening. Although I raised this matter with the Minister for Education, the Minister of State has a responsibility in this regard and I am glad he is present. I have been looking at his long-term objectives and I may find I am pushing an open door on this issue.
I raise this matter because I discovered recently that post-graduate students involved in certain areas of research are paid a grant by Forbairt. The grants are at the same level today as ten years ago — £1,000. In many cases this would represent the sole income of such students. When one considers they could get almost £3,500 on unemployment assistance there is a need to review the level of grants. Many of our brightest post-graduates are leaving Ireland to pursue post-graduate research in order to avail of more financially rewarding opportunities in foreign universities. As a result, the Irish economy loses.
A friend of my family who has studied for the past four years for a primary degree at university and came out every year as the best student in his class, is studying this year at a university in Chicago. He was offered a position there and given about $12,000 for maintenance. Given the situation in Chicago he may find it impossible to return to Ireland. That is only one example from my own experience. From talking to others I know that many of the brightest students do their research in the US, the UK or other European countries. They leave because the opportunities are better abroad. They get more support and the opportunities thereafter appear greater from a financial point of view.
I know the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is trying to create a modern economy here. Last year he spent a substantial amount on the industrial side. He will agree it is rare that the university research student is discussed in the terms of his remit. The Minister's first concern is to get industry moving to invest more in research and development and he has been successful in that regard. While he is making grant aid available to a couple of hundred companies per year, the amount of expenditure coming from industry into research and development is increasing. However, the level is still unacceptable and we will have to keep working at it. The Minister of State is trying to create a situation where we are comparable to our competitors in Europe. Unless we have good research and development we will not get good added value, be able to protect jobs or be in a position to beat our competitors with new products.
The Minister of State is committed to trying to create an ethos which is innovative, which uses research and development to the fullest and which will make us world leaders eventually if we do it to the best of our ability. However, if we are losing many of our best students to our foreign competitors the economy also loses. I suggest the Minister of State examines the position with regard to the supports available to post-graduate students involved in research.
Some people may be in a better position than others but there are students who have no source of income save the money they get from their parents and money they might earn from the university while doing their research. Many students would get the grant of £1,000 and might make £1,000 from work they do in the university but that would be their total income. They have to pay their fees out of that, which may be up to £1,500 a year. Having spent four years at university to get a good degree and proceeding to do a masters or a doctorate, they are paupers. It is easy for them to accept opportunities abroad and those who can avail of them jump at them.
It is important to try to keep these students in the country, to create a reserve of expertise in Ireland and to let that be known. It would make us a more attractive location for certain industries. The amount of money involved would not be great — Forbairt grant aided about 160 students last year at a cost of £160,000. If that amount were to be multiplied by three it would still be a small sum but students would at least have an amount close to what they could get on unemployment assistance. By next September the Minister might be able to increase the grants to that level.
Universities can also get research funding from various sources, such as the Irish Cancer Society or the Irish Kidney Association. However, the Minister of State has a direct input in this regard and I look forward to his response.