Universities condemn 'derisory' research funding

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

Representatives from the north's two universities have told a gathering of business and political leaders that Northern Ireland's economic future is dependant upon immediate investment in research facilities.

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 UK.

In a joint statement, the universities said: "As a proportion of the overall budget, it (£30m) 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 and said Northern Ireland is allowing other regions of the UK to secure an advantage over it. They added: "If it does not find the money to fund research properly it will undermine its economic future."

They also 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.

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."

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."

He added that the two universities are major centres for research and development here - carrying out more than 30% of the R&D. Without them, Prof Hughes said, "this economy would be built on sand".

(GMcG)