Scientist attacks Government policy

The State's newly appointed chief scientist has accused the Government of spending too much time and money on studies of what is wrong without actually addressing the problems.

In his first public address yesterday, Dr Barry McSweeney said Ireland lacked a positive science culture, was too risk-averse and had such poor infrastructure that it could not currently support much additional expenditure on research.

Dr McSweeney, who was appointed to the post only last week, told an audience of academic researchers, scientists and students at IBM's campus in Dublin yesterday the the first thing he would tell the Government was: "Stop analysing. Invest."

Infrastructure across the State was so poor that, if research funding were increased tomorrow from Ireland's 1.1 per cent of GDP to the European average of 1.9 per cent, "I don't think our infrastructure could handle it," he said.

This inadequacy also hampered the Republic when it competed against other EU states for projects and funding, he said. "They say, 'yes, Ireland, the knowledge society, but look at their [lack of\] broadband'," he said.

While organisations like Science Foundation Ireland have made funding in biotechnology and information and communication technologies a priority, Dr McSweeney criticised the broader Irish venture capital community, whose funding support for biotechnology was "a joke".

He also voiced concern about recent plans to increase the number of science PhD students in the State unless careful analysis was made of which areas they should go into and where the State's research infrastructure could support them.

While students were needed in the sciences, they should not be encouraged to study in areas where there were no jobs, he said.

"The facts are that there is significant unemployment of people in the science area. I think you have to be very careful that you're not going to mislead a generation."

Instead of the focus always being on third-level science, he would like to concentrate on ways of getting Leaving Certificate students into science jobs more directly, perhaps by placing FÁS students directly into industry.

He praised the level of funding now going into R&D, noting that the Republic now had the fastest-growing numbers of science researchers in Europe for the amount spent. He also noted the solid industrial base of life sciences, pharmaceutical and ICT companies in the State, which offered great potential for research.

He said he would be stressing:

the need for innovative science that brands Ireland as a science leader;

convergence in research and development across sectors that are currently more isolated;

the adoption of a "global science" approach.

The Republic also needed more young, international researchers, a risk-taking mentality and a move to "drive the pride level up in science", he said.

Noting that he didn't expect to be popular, he said, "What I'll strive to do is give it as it is. I don't have to please anyone."