Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I was in the Dáil when we passed the legislation to establish Science Foundation Ireland. We asked its first CEO, Bill Harris, why decarbonisation was not one of its priorities. He agreed that this was regrettable but the agency went on to concentrate on the areas of data analytics and biopharma. In the Green Party's time in government we changed this and added the third leg to the stool. It was starting to be implemented but that has disappeared in the past eight years.

It is welcome that €230 million will be invested in the six centres, as the Minister outlined, but this is symbolic of where we stand. I have nothing against AMBER, APC, Insight or the areas of data analytics and the bioeconomy. However, only one of those six centres, the marine and renewable energy research, development and innovation centre, MaREI, in Cork, is directly linked to the third leg of the stool of investment in climate action. What is changing? Where is the evidence of that priority being reflected in funding and the research centres to which reference is being made? I do not see it under the current programme.

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