Where the money will come from:The science strategy for the first time co-ordinates the investments made in research by all the Government departments and State bodies.
It accumulates this into a single investment figure, with State expenditure from 2007 through 2013 expected to reach €3.8 billion.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said yesterday that the investment would push our expenditure as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to about 2.5 per cent, well above our existing 1.4 per cent of GDP.
This 2.5 per cent figure was adopted as our target by the Government in light of the EU's guidelines which suggest that member states should invest up to 3 per cent of GDP in scientific research.
Significantly, the Government plans to accelerate spending in the first two years of the programme, spending €2.7 billion of the total by 2008.
This compares with a €2.5 billion spend for the full six years of the previous 2000-2006 science investment strategy.
This will involve an additional €192 million (€66 million in 2007 and €126 million in 2008) over and above the existing levels of expenditure.
The plan indicates this additional spending will "ensure the immediate implementation of the strategy".
In reality, the €3.8 billion spend on scientific research will be much higher.
Government planners have always assumed that the private sector would also increase research spending and that the total national expenditure on research would be one-third by the State and two-thirds by the private sector.
On this basis the national science budget would be worth a combined €11.8 billion if this target were achieved.
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin believes that business expenditure on research and development could reach €2.5 billion here by 2013, which would make the national total €6.3 billion.
Any way you look at it, the national science budget is now quoted in figures that in the past would have looked like those associated with major road-building.
