Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the amendments. This is Committee Stage and I will reflect on these amendments and no doubt we will have an opportunity on Report Stage as well to tease them through further. However, I will outline my initial response. Regarding amendment No. 18, the provision we have put into this Bill is based in very similar provisions in comparable legislation. In fact, it is the wording that is in comparable legislation and the requirement is included in section 23(8) that the plan must be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. There is also provision in section 31 relating to the accountability of the chief executive officer to other Oireachtas committees for the committee to request the attendance of the CEO before it to give an account for the administration of the agency. The Deputy will know this. This is in the Bill. The existing provision includes that the agency may "consult with such other persons or bodies as it considers appropriate", which gives scope for consultation with any of the other higher education institution representative bodies research performing organisations which may wish to make representation or have an input in the preparation of the plan. I am of the view that is captured already and the Deputy is of the view it should be spelt out a bit more and that is back to that prescriptive piece again.

Regarding amendment No. 20, again, I am extremely grateful and fond of the work the Royal Irish Academy does and the important role it plays in society. The purpose here again is back to not having an overly prescriptive list for fear that we will have forgotten somebody and therefore the list will be read as exhaustive rather than indicative. For amendment No. 20, the existing provision we have in the legislation is in the interest of ensuring clarity of purpose in connected planning in the research and innovation system as a whole, which is the reason for including the requirement to consult with the bodies that are specified here. Once we go beyond that, my worry is that we could end up leaving others out by accident. I do not propose to accept this but I will reflect further on amendment No. 20 between now and Report Stage.