IRISH companies must recognise that innovation, particularly technical innovation, is central to their survival, according to the Minister of State for Science, Commerce and Technology, Mr Pat Rabbitte. Speaking in Dublin yesterday, Mr Rabbitte said Irish companies are not currently spending enough money on research and development and must make efforts to address this problem.

Ireland's expenditure on research and development is low by international standards, he said, with an average spend of

1.2 per cent of Gross National Product compared with an EU average of 2 per cent. "Our aim must be to at least achieve a 2 per cent figure by the end of the decade," he said.