Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank everyone for coming to the meeting. It is amazing to think the Department of Higher and Further Education, Research, Innovation and Science has only been in existence for two years. It has been in place for three years but we have only had two years of the performance report we have before us. Well done to the officials. This is a brand-new organisation and Department. There is a lot of excitement and ambition. I know there are new systems and all of those take time to bed down.

There are some positives in the report around the apprenticeship figures. The Department is over its target in that regard. It is an easy target to look at. It is hard for people to meet the targets they set. It is wonderful that the Department has gone over and above its target for apprenticeships. I see an increase of 26,325. I ask the officials to speak about that. Where and in what programmes are the increases? We have over 70 types of apprenticeship at the moment. In what areas are we seeing increases?

Mr. Howard spoke about PhDs and postdoctorates. The issue has already been explored at the committee.

I would like to ask a little about GDP, GNI and all these wonderful terms we use. I want to identify how much is going into third level research. We sometimes have figures for research and development that include industry, corporates and everything else. What figures would the officials identify to show what is going to third level research? Of course, we now have Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council. There are also other organisations, such as Teagasc, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and Geological Survey Ireland, GSI, all of which have smaller pockets of funding. They are all competitive programmes that are out there to support research across many different areas. I will ask the following of whomever it is most relevant to. What is the correct measure that we should be looking at? What is it at the moment and where should it be? Ireland's ranking in terms of innovation is falling. That is a key area on which the committee wants to focus. We will be doing that when we have our new research and innovation Ireland agency. Some of those questions may be for Dr. Lillis. When will we see the research and innovation Ireland agency?

What are the steps for us to get there? We had all the legislation only a little while ago in the Seanad and the Dáil.

The Government science adviser is one of the key issues for me. I worked previously in Science Foundation Ireland and in Enterprise Ireland as an administrative person but I know the importance of, and the key role, played by the chief executive. At that time, that was a dual role, with the Government science adviser role. It is something we are lacking. We need a voice telling us in government what it is that we need to see at third level and sometimes it can be difficult for people within Departments to do that. That voice is missing at present. I am aware, from the Minister, Deputy Harris, that that role is out there. I believe it is being actively worked on. Is there an update around the Government science adviser role and when will we see that put in place?

I might leave those questions for a moment with Dr. Lillis. If I have time, I might continue.