Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has spoken about the composition of the board and that is what the amendment is about here. We had some deliberations about the rights of researchers. I was satisfied on Committee Stage with the Minister's response on that point. I would have liked it to have been a bit stronger, if I may, but we had amendments to that effect. However, there was always a long-standing protocol whereby the board would be comprised of people of international standing. I am hopeful the Minister will give us some comfort that the board will not be inward-looking, that it would be comprised of people who are not from this island, and that we have principal investigators, researchers and scientists of international standing if that is possible. That has always being the hallmark of SFI and if it continues in that vein, allows the board to retain its international status. There are some worries about this. The Minister will be aware of the William C. Harris article in The Irish Times in the past few days in which there is a concern being expressed that the loss of the Science Foundation Ireland name could give rise to a loss of reputation. That is how it is being perceived in some circles. I do not necessarily share the same concerns but if a message is sent out from the Minister directly to all of the stakeholders that it is the intention of the Minister and the Department to ensure that there are people of international standing represented on the board, this will give a lot of confidence to those people who have contacted me. Very reasonable people who themselves are scientists of international repute have contacted me expressing their concerns. Will the Minister address the point in the Harris article and also the point in respect of the need to have people of international standing with stellar careers behind them and ahead of them also represented on the board?

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