SCIENCE:Already there are some who are starting to question our commitment to research, writes DICK AHLSTROM

'IS IT safe?" Do you remember those unforgettable words uttered by the great British actor Laurence Olivier in the classic film Marathon Man? And who can forget the chilling, gut tightening dread that followed for Olivier's co-star Dustin Hoffman because he did not have an answer.

Anyone interested in the advance of scientific research in this country is currently feeling this sense of dread because, like Hoffman, we can’t answer the fateful question, “is it safe?”

The theme of this month’s Innovation is loosely based on the idea of how others abroad see us, how they view this country particularly as we struggle to break free of recession and the deadening weight of years of profligate Government spending.

These observers will be greatly informed this month as the annual governmental spending estimates are announced. The decisions taken will undoubtedly trigger an immediate response, not just on financial markets but also in other less obvious areas. And the simple question asked by some: Is it safe?

Cutbacks in the overall science budget may help the Government edge closer towards closing the enormous spending gap, but in reality may cost much more than is saved in the long term. How will leading research-based companies considering whether to invest here view a diminution of the research spend? It won’t go down well.

Many companies with major budgets have seen fit to establish research centres here because they know we have scientists doing cutting-edge research. Cut the funding and you cut the research, cut the research and these small research groups will evaporate. Cut the research too severely and we may also see foreign direct investment start to decline, with companies heading for Singapore rather than dealing with uncertainties here.

Companies like stability, but so too do leading scientists and highly promising post doctoral research fellows coming to us from abroad. Ireland’s research capacity has gained significantly from this influx, in some cases involving entire teams of scientists.

They come here after taking up research opportunities offered by Science Foundation Ireland and other funders. These offers are intentionally “internationalised”, open to all comers. All research-active countries boost their research base by sourcing scientists from abroad. We have attracted well-established research professors who come here on a five-year promise with budgets of up to €1 million a year to run their teams.

Start to trim back the research investment, however, and you threaten the wisdom of their decisions to move here. They will immediately come up with an answer to the question, “Is it safe?”

Start to wind back the science budget and you start to wind back the advances we have made in building a reputation for being a good place for scientific research. A lack of money will cause downstream losses of key researchers who can readily find new homes for their skills in the US or UK.

Reduce the research capacity and you downskill the universities where these people work, in turn causing these important institutions to slide backwards down the international rankings – these things always get noticed.

Research is an international business. The key publications that several years ago carried advertisements encouraging foreign applicants into the various Irish funding programmes, including the premier league publications Nature and Science, were the very ones asking questions when the supplementary Budget in April this year showed science spending cuts of about 15 per cent.

Was Ireland getting out of the science game, they asked. Is it safe?

The Government insists it remains firmly committed to maintaining Ireland’s science spend and that the development of a knowledge economy is still absolutely on the cards.

But how will this play out when we come to the estimates? Will science win out over children in pre-fabricated schoolrooms? How about hospital accident and emergency departments, or cancelled operations due to ward closures?

Already there are some who are starting to question our commitment to research. Some experts involved in science and research admit they have had to fight a rearguard action to reassure at least some companies and researchers that nothing has changed, that things on the science front are safe. But if they have to ask the question, then something has already slipped.

The most frightening thing is where do we go if the cutbacks continue and our knowledge economy starts to unravel? We can hardly go back to being a manufacturing location for high-tech products or even tinned beans given our diminished competitiveness.

Higher added value is the only show in town, but we can’t achieve that goal unless the knowledge economy is there to make it happen. And this is dependent on sustained and consistent funding. Is it safe?