It is quite clear that high industrial output and new sources of employment depend on the electronics sector. The Irish productivity centre noted in May that software will grow by 20 per cent a year over the coming decade. They said Ireland is quite weak in this sector. Can the Minister state whether any special effort is being made to remedy our weaknesses in the software area by buying in expertise through specific joint ventures with established overseas companies?

First of all, I do not think it is correct to say that our total industrial base will be dependent on high technology. That is not the way to approach it. It is only part of the policy, and certainly an important part. The IDA encouraged over the last number of years the development of software by bright young Irish graduates working in companies here or coming from the universities. They also succeeded in encouraging major electronics companies to locate research and development divisions of their operations, including software, in Ireland. I agree with the Deputy that software is an area of great potential. The agencies are very aware of that and are actively promoting the development of software both indigenously and by the enticement of foreign companies into Ireland.