Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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165. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if she has requested the office of the chief scientific adviser on occasions to advise the Government; and if so, when and the matters on which the advice was sought. [40892/19]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I have not requested such advice on a specific topic or on any specific occasion.

The Chief Science Adviser (CSA) meets with relevant Cabinet Ministers on a regular basis and meets with new Ministers when they take responsibility for their portfolio.

Last year, the CSA presented evidence to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Seanad Special Select Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. The CSA is due to present again to the latter on 9 October 2019.

The CSA also regularly meets with relevant European Commissioners and members of their Cabinets. The CSA organised an important meeting of INGSA (the International Network of Government Science Advisors) and EUGCSA (the EU Group of Chief Scientific Advisers) in Dublin in July 2019. The meeting was attended by the European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation and by a number of Irish Ministers and TDs.