13th November 2002

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Senior politicians, business leaders briefed on consequences for Northern Ireland economy.

The campaign by Northern Ireland’s two universities to secure research funding parity with the rest of the UK stepped up a gear yesterday, when they presented their case to an audience of senior Northern Ireland politicians and business leaders.

At the Stormont briefing, the universities said it would take £30 million a year to close the gap between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

"As a proportion of the overall budget, it is a tiny amount. But the leverage it creates is enormous.

"If Northern Ireland is to capitalise on the new knowledge-based economy, it must make the investment. And it must make it now.

"Other regions of the United Kingdom are pulling away from us fast. In Scotland, almost £36 per head of population is spent on university research and development. The figure in Northern Ireland is a derisory £16,” the universities said.

They called on the Government to make investment in knowledge a priority:

"Northern Ireland is allowing other regions of the UK to secure an advantage over it. If it does not find the money to fund research properly it will undermine its economic future."

They warned that world-class researchers would be driven out of Northern Ireland, and major projects in health, biomedical sciences and technology would be run down if proposals in the draft budget were not reviewed.

The University of Ulster's Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, Professor John Hughes, said: "All the major economic players recognise that if they are to prosper, they have to invest in research. Ideas are the lifeblood of economic development. We will not be taken seriously as a region if we do not support our research base."

The universities said they welcomed the opportunity to put the case for research funding forward during the draft budget consultation period. "People take for granted the work which goes on in our laboratories. The reality is that in today's world, university research is not just an academic exercise. It has a direct impact on the lives of everyone in this society.

"It is particularly important in the Northern Ireland context. The two universities are the major centres for research and development here - carrying out more than 30 per cent of the R&D. Without them, this economy would be built on sand."

Queen's Vice-Chancellor Sir George Bain said: "If Northern Ireland takes economic regeneration seriously, there needs to be a quantum leap in its attitude to research and development. Plans for increased spending on major public services - such as the health service - are not sustainable if the economy stagnates."

For further information, please contact:

Press Office Department of Communication and Development
Telephone: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk