The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, and the Minister for Research and Innovation, Mr. Seán Sherlock TD, today [Wednesday] welcomed the opening of the Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF) in the Convention Centre Dublin.
ESOF is the largest and most prestigious European general science meeting and is held in a leading European city every two years. The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation has provided substantial support for ESOF 2012 and Dublin City of Science on behalf of the Government
Addressing the opening ceremony, Minister Bruton said:
“As a country we have a long history of scientific achievement, and in the past decade we have built upon that heritage with dramatic improvements in publicly-funded scientific research. In 2003 Ireland was ranked 36th in the world for quality of scientific research output; in 2010 we were 20th. In 2000 our total spend on publicly-funded R&D was €290million; in 2010 it was over €800 million.
"As we seek to grow our way out of our difficulties these strengths are key assets, and through the Action Plan for Jobs the Government is implementing a series of changes to ensure that this research is properly commercialised so that we can turn good ideas into good jobs. These changes include:
· the approval of legislation to extend the remit of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) to include applied research
· the implementation of Research Prioritisation to ensure that publicly-funded research is aimed at areas with the greatest potential for commercialisation and job-creation.
· the establishment of a one-stop-shop for businesses seeking to commercialise intellectual property deriving from publicly-funded research
· the establishment of a network of industry-led technology centres to encourage industry and academia to work together to develop and commercialise research ideas
"Dublin City of Science is a great opportunity for Ireland to show the global scientific and business community that we truly are a centre of scientific excellence. I congratulate all involved in what looks like being an amazingly successful festival, and look forward to an exciting programme of events
Minister Sherlock said, “As Minister for Research and Innovation, I see science as being very much a core part of employment creation and retention. Events such as ESOF have the potential to capture the publics’ imagination and encourage students to take up science-based careers. This is a show case of world-class scientific endeavour”.
Minister Sherlock added, “As a country, we have leaped up the international rankings in terms of the quality of our research. The Government is committed to continuing investment in science, technology and innovation. We believe this will help to underpin our economic recovery and benefit society.”
The ESOF 2012 general science conference is the centrepiece of the activities that mark Dublin as the City of Science for 2012, and is the largest scientific gathering in Europe this year, with over 5,000 delegates expected to attend.