Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies Gino Kenny and Boyd Barrett for the question. It is an important issue. The quality of our researchers is fundamental to the quality of our research system and its collaboration with partners in industry and policy-makers in both Ireland and abroad.

Under pillar 4 of our national research and innovation strategy, Impact 2030, we have committed to ensuring that researchers have the right skills development and career opportunities to allow them make their maximum contribution, whether in academia, industry, the public sector or elsewhere. As part of this commitment, I announced a national review of State supports for PhD researchers. I was pleased to appoint two exceptional co-chairs, Dr. Andrea Johnson and David Cagney, to oversee the review. I met the co-chairs at the end of February and they provided an update on the progress of the review.

This independent review is currently very much underway. The two co-chairs are approaching completion of a very comprehensive round of stakeholder consultations and written submissions. The Dáil felt strongly about the importance of the co-chairs meeting directly with the representative groups, research groups, student groups and other stakeholders. I am pleased to tell the Deputy the stakeholder engagement included a meeting between the co-chairs and officials from both the Department of Justice and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science on 20 March.

The review is considering a range of critical issues, including those affecting non-EEA PhD researchers, as well as stipend levels and the consistency of supports across the system. Once the co-chairs complete their report, it will be considered by all relevant Government Departments, including the Department of Justice, in advance of a Government decision. The fundamental piece here, which I hear when I go around the country and engage with researchers, is we want to attract people here to do their research. That often involves a spouse coming as well, it may involve a family and it involves our visa system understanding how that happens. What the review group is trying to do in working with the Department of Justice is come up with solid recommendations in that space.

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