No hi-tech future without investment in schools

GIVEN the downturn in the construction and financial sectors and the increased competition from China and India in the manufacturing sector, it is widely recognised that the best way forward for the Irish economy is via knowledge-intensive, high value-added activities.

It is alarming, therefore, to learn from the INTO that not a cent of the €252 million set aside in the National Development Plan for computer technology has been spent.

In the latest relevant OECD report, Ireland is propping up the table of investment in education. In fact, Government investment in this crucial infrastructure has fallen from 5.25% of GDP in 1995 to a very low 4.6% last year. The OECD average is 6.2% while the Scandinavian countries spend more than 7%.