The Government's programme on innovation, Innovation 2020, commits to a target of 2.5% GDP spending on research and development this year. The figures released by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation last week suggest that we have spent about 1.4% or 1.5%, which is about half of what was committed. Can the Minister advise when the Government might reach that target? It announces grand initiatives such as Project 2040 but it cannot even manage project 2018 or its own Innovation 2020 strategy, which makes it very hard to have confidence in other programmes.

That is a matter that the relevant Minister would be best placed to answer. The Government is committed to continuing to increase our budgetary spend in this area. I will ask the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation to revert to the Deputy.