Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman. I welcome all the guests before the committee and thank them for their opening statements.

If I could start with Dr. Keating, we all recognise that academic research cannot take place without funding. At present, arts and humanities are funded by the research council and science is funded by Science Foundation Ireland. Is there legitimacy to the concern that by merging both together, the arts and humanities will suffer, and that, in particular, creative arts and humanities will be at a disadvantage if they are competing against science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM, subjects and science and research funding requests?