The number of doctoral students at universities here is to be doubled as part of an increased focus on science and technology, the Minister for Education and Science has indicated.
Mary Hanafin said that while the research system here was "robust", it needed to be developed further if Ireland was to play a full part in "the knowledge economy" globally.
"Ireland faces a major challenge in enhancing the quality of research training here," she told a symposium of more than 600 third-level researchers yesterday. "This is part of the overall national effort to increase the volume of research activity across the public and private sector."
The development of graduate school programmes and clusters of research expertise would be "key mechanisms" in maintaining and improving standards in PhD education, she told the event, organised by the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology.
The Government's chief science adviser, Dr Barry McSweeney, was due to attend but cancelled for personal reasons. He is currently embroiled in controversy over his academic qualifications.
Opposition TDs have questioned the standing of Pacific Western University, the US institution from which he obtained a PhD in 1994. Dr McSweeney has denied claims that he bought the degree, saying it was awarded for "substantial research" and the development of BioResearch Ireland.
Ms Hanafin told the symposium that more than €60 million spent on council-funded research since its foundation in 2002 "definitely represents value for the taxpayers' money". "The programme for research in third-level institutions has transformed our colleges and universities. It has transformed the research landscape, physically through new buildings and more so through the 1,500 research positions created, but all of this is just a beginning and it needs to be built on."
She added: "This is not just about numbers of researchers and level of investment but also about the quality of work. We cannot compromise on quality if we are to compete on a world stage."
The director of the research council, Martin Hynes, said the aim was to provide post-graduate students with a broader mix of skills. The proposed graduate schools would provide training in other areas in addition to the scientific core.
