In 2016 Ireland achieved a world ranking of 10th for the overall quality of its scientific research. It was the first time that Ireland had entered the top 10 in the world rankings and represents a jump of 26 places in just 13 years.
When you break down that performance into sectors, there is even more to be proud of. According to Science Foundation Ireland’s most recent annual report, Ireland is second in the global scientific ranking for its animal and dairy science. The country scores second too in immunology and in nanotechnology. It is third in materials sciences, fourth in agricultural sciences and fifth in chemistry. For basic medical research and computer science, Ireland came sixth. According to the Global Innovation Index 2016, Ireland is now the seventh most innovative country in the world.
Such achievements are impressive, but how sustainable are they and what are the challenges ahead?
“Provided we continue to focus on the factors that have placed Ireland as a global leader in the (Life Sciences) sector and don’t become complacent, I see no reason why the success we have had in the past is not sustainable in the future,” says Colin Kavanagh, Partner and Head of Life Sciences, Arthur Cox.
“The IDA, supported by service providers like ourselves, continues to do great work in the US and elsewhere on selling the benefits of Ireland as a location for new FDI or continued investment. We should also not underestimate the work being done by the Irish management of multinationals in ensuring that Ireland is the location for the next upgrade or plant expansion.”
Despite some of the uncertainty created by global political change, multinationals have continued to invest here in particular in biotech and medtech. “Although there are challenges, our track record in manufacturing excellence, skill base and R&D support along with our stable tax and regulatory framework continues to encourage new investment,” says Kavanagh.
Brexit represents both a threat and opportunity for the industry in Ireland. “Although we are grappling with a range of operational, legal and regulatory divergences, there will be opportunities for Irish businesses in areas that have traditionally been strengths of the UK, in particular in product research and development. To support and increase Irish R&D activity, and the industry here more generally, it is critical that Ireland’s healthcare system commits to a position of leadership when it comes to adopting new products and technologies.”
FDI is a competitive landscape, but Ireland is doing very well, says John Glenny of MERC, an executive search specialist. “The calibre of graduates here is exceptionally high and Ireland’s share of third-level graduates in science and computing is higher than the EU average, with many going on to do post-grads and PhDs.”
The traditional clustering of Life Sciences companies in Cork is now spreading beyond this, and even though Dublin faces much publicised challenges in relation to housing shortages and traffic, its issues are the same as facing any capital city, he says.
"Ireland continues to attract significant amounts of investment. Organisations are voting with their wallets to come here because Ireland is a good place to invest. We are 10th in the global scientific rankings for the first time, we have a very good strong national research ecosystem and it's getting better, thanks to the work of organisations such as Science Foundation Ireland and its 12, soon to be 16, Research Centres."
