Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Senator Dolan may have to recap on some of those questions. There are many areas to cover. I thank her for her interest and work in this area. The digital skills piece is key, and not just digital skills but literacy, numeracy and digital skills. Approximately 50% of adults lack digital skills. They will be locked out of society and our economies if we do not rectify this. We have tasked SOLAS with preparing Ireland's first adult literacy, numeracy and digital skills plan. It is due to come to me around Easter. I will publish it shortly thereafter. We are eager to engage with this committee on how we can make that document a living document that makes a meaningful difference in towns and villages across our country.

On the AIT-LIT development, I am pleased to say it submitted an application for designation on 20 November. I appointed an international advisory panel in December. The panel is currently undertaking an assessment and concluded its meetings on 10 February. It will then submit its report to the Higher Education Authority, HEA. I should hear back at the end of March. We will finalise the specific designation date depending on how that goes.

The Connacht Ulster Alliance has informed my Department that it is likely we will receive its application in March. We will then follow the same statutory process. My understanding on the south east technological university, TUSE, is that the consortium hopes to have the application to me around the end of April.

On Science Foundation Ireland, SFI, the Irish Research Council, IRC, and the higher education institutions, HEIs, and I ran out of time on Senator Byrne's question, now that 50% of our public research budget is under the remit of one Department, we are trying to avoid a situation where the SFI strategy over here, the IRC over there and the HEIs are doing their own thing. I assure Senators Dolan and Byrne that it is way more than being administrators. We have a chance to have one national research plan for Ireland. We have to involve civic society in that. It has been done in the Netherlands and other countries. Covid-19 provides us with that opportunity. People are excited about research and science. Perhaps it is a once in a generation opportunity, so we want to use this year. The Taoiseach will begin a national conversation shortly on research and innovation, involving our technological universities, higher education institutions, schools and broader civic society and, by the end of the year, we will have one national research plan in which all our agencies play a part and have clear responsibilities.

As was rightly said, it will also have to tackle the issue of human capital. I have already tried to make progress on that. We increased the stipends for researchers with the Irish Research Council as a first step. I also want to have discussions on career pathways. Not every researcher will work in academia forever. Many researchers will need to transition from academia into industry. I will be interested in engaging, and keen to continue to engage, with the committee on this.

Research and innovation is where the future of our economy's and society's well-being is at. This Department is asked many questions about other burning issues of the day and rightly so. However, the long-term strategic benefit of this Department must be the proper funding of higher education and getting research and innovation where it needs to be from a funding and policy point of view.