As scientists, journalists and policy-makers gather in Dublin this week for the Euroscience Open Forum (www.esof.eu), we need to answer a question that I have often been asked during my five years as chief scientific adviser to the Irish government. Why should a small country spend scarce taxpayers' money on research and development (R&D) — particularly during a recession, when every extra euro is borrowed from the next generation?

The question contains its own answer: today's R&D is an investment in the wealth and welfare of future generations. This is why the Irish government treats public spending on R&D as capital expenditure, as it does for roads and schools.

The case for public R&D is laid out in a 2006 World Bank report, Where is the Wealth of Nations? Most of the wealth in all countries is in the intellectual capital of individuals, firms and institutions. In developed countries, including Ireland, intellectual capital generally exceeds 80% of total wealth.

Many nations are recalibrating their R&D investment to help pull themselves out of the economic downturn. Spain, for example, is cutting funds. Finland and Ireland are among those boosting or protecting their science budgets in the interest of long-term growth.

A broad-based steering group has identified 14 priority areas for future R&D investment in Ireland. Most relate to strong industrial sectors (information technology, pharmaceuticals, health, high-tech services) and to resources (energy, food, agricultural, marine). This economic focus is compatible with strong support for basic science in the priority areas, which is what industrial partners (who contribute two-thirds of the nation's R&D spending) say that they want.

Two further important sectors should, in my view, command perhaps one-third of public R&D investment in general. One is research to underpin policy, such as applied studies in environment, health, social science and economics. The other is research not directly relevant to economic or policy goals, such as astronomy, particle physics or the humanities, that can enrich our culture and national reputation.