Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There is a set of guidelines as well as an agreed IP protocol, a document on which is published. Regarding the research centres, one must allow for a certain degree of flexibility if one wants a greater degree of industrial engagement in the funding of research. A designated technology transfer officer within each institution manages the relationship between principal investigators and industry. If one is too restrictive, one might curtail the level of economic activity or the opportunities arising from the engagement between publicly funded research and industry.