Professor Mark Ferguson:

Science Foundation Ireland, SFI, is the Government funding agency for science. In order to access funding, applicants undergo a competitive process involving written applications that are internationally reviewed for excellence and impact. We fund all areas of science, typically in collaboration with companies or, in the case of agriculture, with co-ops, Teagasc or other national bodies. We are very collaborative. In terms of assessing the impact of our approach, Ireland ranks approximately tenth in the world for spending on science, up from a ranking of 46th - below that of Bangladesh - when SFI was formed in 2000, so we have made a considerable improvement. In the case of agriculture, animal and dairy, by citations we are ranked second in the world and are in good standing in several areas relevant to the committee.

We are keen on collaboration with industry and there are some interesting intersections on which my colleague, Professor Linda Doyle, will speak, in particular as regards software, sensors, the Internet and traditional agriculture. SFI supports approximately 1,600 collaborations across the country and 1,400 researchers every year.

We provide funds of about €57 million to agricultural research projects. These span a wide range including the genomics of cattle and crops, the Internet of things and other items, some of which my colleagues will speak about. The committee may have seen recently that we have announced two research centres which are related to agriculture. One of them, that was announced in the budget, is called Future Milk, which is about how the Internet of things, sensors and software can relate to the dairy industry. Another centre is on the bio-economy called Beacon, which is about how waste products can be reused into useful products. Rather than tell the committee a huge amount about the agency, it is better that I answer questions and, more appropriately, that I hand over to my colleagues who will speak more specifically about the research that is of interest to the committee. I ask Professor Linda Doyle to begin.