Fine Gael TD for Limerick has welcomed the decision of Minister Richard Bruton to allocate €4million to the University of Limerick from a fund administered by Science Foundation Ireland. The University of Limerick was one of ten locations which have received allocations from the total amount of €47million. The fund will be used for scientific research and will support 200 researchers in the ten locations. The Limerick projects that have succeeded in attracting funding are in the areas of Maths, Metal Science and Pharmaceuticals.
Patrick O’Donovan said that Government investment in research and innovation was critical to ensuring that the country can continue to attract foreign and direct investment. “In the recent past we have seen in Limerick significant jobs announcements with Regeneron and Ethicon. Part of the reason that Limerick is attractive is down to the fact that we have both UL and LIT in the area, who are both providing excellent research and innovation opportunities for undergraduate and postgraduate students.
The Limerick TD said that the investment of €4million was very welcome and he had raised particular aspects of research and science education on a number of occasions in the Dáil. He went on to say that further work was needed in the area and encouraged Minister Richard Bruton to engage with the Department of Education and Skills to try to ensure that a greater number of students take up science subjects at Leaving Certificate level. He added, “As someone who studied science myself I am concerned about leaving cert students entering science and engineering courses without a strong foundation in science and maths subjects and I believe that some students are being put under huge pressure when they enter third level and are disadvantaged in comparison to other students. This is an issue I will continue to highlight”.