The Government is to launch a major new research and innovation strategy to "transform us from being an export-driven economy to a knowledge-based economy", Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin said yesterday. Karlin Lillington reports.
Speaking at the opening of Dell Computer's new building in its expanded campus in Cherrywood, Co Dublin, Mr Martin said the new strategy would pump considerable funding and resources into "research and innovation" across both business and education sectors.
"One of our big ticket items will be the ramping up of research and development [ R&D]," the Minister said.
He said the Government wanted people to think of Ireland as "a place of innovation and a place of solutions. To do that we need to invest in research and innovation". This "major strategy" would involve nine Government departments, he said.
The goals of the strategy are to double the number of postgraduate students in Ireland, significantly increase the number of students going into science and technology careers, and establish additional funding to promote innovative R&D projects in the State.
The strategy will also be designed to further stimulate business involvement and partnership in research, he said.
Mr Martin's comments came as he reiterated the Government's intention to eliminate "obstacles and barriers" to business development and investment in Ireland.
He said the Government was committed to maintaining low personal and corporate tax rates as "a cornerstone of our policy". Ireland "as a nation must continue to be about adaptability and change".
Mr Martin was addressing several hundred Dell customers, partners and employees, including Paul Bell, president of Dell in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Mr Bell credited "the quality and expertise of the people but also the flexibility and partnership" Dell received from the IDA and the Government for Dell's continued expansion in Ireland over the past 15 years.
The new campus at Cherrywood consolidates Dell's existing Cherrywood operation and its Bray operations, with the addition of 420 new jobs. The number of Dublin-based employees will eventually be 1,650.
