Dr. Lisa Keating:

I thank the Acting Chair and committee members for inviting the Irish Universities Association to come and speak today. I will recap on the points in our statement about research and my colleague, Mr. Lewis Purser, will pick up on the education piece in particular. A lot of what I have to say will reflect what Professor Ferguson has said.

Higher education and research are vital to the Irish economy and play a role in protecting us from global crises. Ireland's economic success is dependent on our capacity to compete globally in a fiercely competitive knowledge economy.

As Professor Ferguson has said, it is well recognised that our pool of high-quality talent and our capacity for innovation at a global competitive level is central to that achievement. Universities are the engine rooms for the production and nurturing of talent and the cutting edge research and innovation that takes place therein.

In the early 2000s, Irish universities experienced an unprecedented investment in higher education and research that approached that of their competitors in Europe, and Ireland thrived on the global stage. Two of our universities moved into the top 100 and, due to the work of Science of Foundation Ireland and the Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions, PRTLI, Ireland was ranked tenth in the scientific rankings, its first time in the top ten.

That period of investment in higher education was sufficient to guide us through the worst years of recession. Our highly qualified graduates, the knowledge transfer from research and development activity and the university-industry partnerships played a significant role in our knowledge-led economic recovery.

With the UK's impending departure from the European Union, we are now faced with another crisis in which higher education and research again have a significant role to play. There are several challenges and threats, as Professor Ferguson outlined, but there are opportunities, too, in research and higher education, which is not often said in reference to Brexit. One of the main challenges is that if the UK does exit without a deal, the impact on Horizon 2020 will be significant. The UK is Ireland's largest collaborator on research documents, with more than 15,000 publications jointly held. In the €80 billion research programme under Horizon 2020, it is our third largest collaborator. There will be difficulties with the current projects we hold with our UK partners and in all future applications to Horizon 2020 and its successor, Horizon Europe. In addition, we will lose the UK as a strategic partner in influencing the agenda for European programme funding. Overall, there could be a reduction in the amount of funding that is available as a consequence of the budget reductions that will be made under Horizon Europe.

One of the greatest opportunities arising out of Brexit is the possibility to attract and recruit outstanding talent, not only from the UK but internationally. While it is helpful that we are an English-speaking country, for many researchers and top academics, a national funding system that values basic and applied research and provides appropriate facilities for researchers is also key. Several considerations come into play when researchers are considering moving their laboratories and small businesses to Ireland. Unfortunately, the recent decline in rankings and other indicators for the higher education sector means that Ireland is no longer seen as positively in some quarters as it was in the past. In particular, it is viewed as inferior to our competitors in Germany, France and the Scandinavian countries. This makes it more difficult to attract the top talent.

Along with the specific measures that Science Foundation Ireland and other funders and Government agencies have been putting in place, including bilateral agreements and specific actions, we are asking that in order to keep pace with our competitors, we do everything possible to achieve the national target of 2.5% of GDP for research and development. We are particularly focused on the Exchequer element of that funding, that is, the amount of moneys that go through public funds into research and development through Science Foundation Ireland and other agencies.