Enterprise, Trade & Employment Minister Micheal Martin has said the Government is making a 'huge effort' to close the research gap between Ireland and other countries.
Ireland currently spends 1.4% of gross national product on research and development, compared with the EU average of 1.9% of output.
Minister Martin told a conference on research in Dublin that he had asked an interdepartmental committee to prepare a detailed report proposing specific targets and funding projections for the R&D Action Plan published earlier this year.
Also at the conference - hosted by IBEC and the American Chamber of Commerce - Jerry McCrohan, head of AIB Corporate Banking Ireland, said there was
'no reason why Ireland could not in the future become the European hub for collaboration and research'.
Mr McCrohan spoke of the continued need for governmental, private sector and academic co-operation.
He also called for industry to become more involved in the Irish education system in order to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship at a young age.
'Industry in partnership with the Department of Education must bring itself into every Irish classroom in a planned and sustained way,' he said.
