Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Sure.

When I speak to academics involved in innovation, receiving funding from Science Foundation Ireland, SFI, one of the key frustrations they repeatedly voice is the constraint on their freedom to spend the money. I will give an example. In her initial contribution, the Minister said we needed well paid and sustainable employment. The public hiring framework for researchers in this area is very restrictive. The entry salary is €32,000. They are not allowed to provide increments for any private sector experience or for any foreign academic experience. They are allowed to provide increments for public service. For example, someone who has spent ten years working in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on bovine inoculation can be paid significantly in excess of €32,000. However, an employer with SFI money who wants to hire an Oxford professor or someone from Google or Facebook can only hire that person on a salary of €32,000. While the funding is great, one area in which the researchers are saying they need more freedom to spend the money better is more freedom around hiring practices. Does the Minister have an opinion on that?