‘Schools bigger problem than banking’

THE former leader of one of the world’s biggest technology companies has warned Ireland is spending far too little on education and needs to correct the shortfall immediately if the country is to have any economic future.

Craig Barrett, former chief executive and chairman of Intel, told one of the plenary sessions at the Global Irish Economic Forum that Ireland had bigger problems than the banks that needed to be tackled head- on if the economy was to have a long-term future, in particular the lag in education spending.

“Ireland is not a big country,” he said. “It is limited in resources so it has to prioritise. You need to then have the education system, the research and development system and the Government policies crystallised about a few areas, focused on and be world leaders in those areas.”