Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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66. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update on the ongoing PhD review; if it will include wider stakeholder engagement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15594/23]

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to get an update from the Minister concerning the ongoing PhD review and I ask him to make a statement on the matter.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The quality of our researchers is fundamental to the quality of our research system and its collaboration with partners in industry and policymakers, both in Ireland and abroad. Under pillar 4 of our national research and innovation strategy, Impact 2030, we have committed to ensuring that our researchers have the right skills and development and career opportunities to ensure they can make their maximum contribution, whether in academia, industry, the public sector or elsewhere.

As part of advancing this commitment I announced the national review of State supports for PhD researchers referred to by the Deputy. I was very pleased to appoint Dr. Andrea Johnson and Mr. David Cagney as co-chairs for the review. I met the co-chairs at the end of February where they provided an update on progress of the review. The independent review is very much underway. The two co-chairs are approaching completion of a what has been a very comprehensive round of stakeholder consultations and written submissions. I think they have had engagements with more than 30 stakeholder organisations. They have received more than 750 public submissions. The review report will consider a range of critical issues including stipend levels and the consistency of supports across the system. As I said, they have been meeting with more than 30 stakeholder organisations to understand their perspectives. This included an all-day in-person workshop held on 08 March with researcher representative organisations. They held an online consultation process which received over 750 submissions and closed on 13 March. I expect the co-chairs to conclude their work and send their report to me in the coming weeks. We will then consider the report, bring it to the Government, publish it, and crucially try to make progress on it in the Estimates. The Deputy will know the terms of reference of the review which are quite broad. The review it to look at stipends but it will look at more than stipends. It will look at stipend levels; the consistency and equity of current arrangements; their status as students ard the implications, particularly for things like maternity leave and sick leave; also the impact on the funding of research programmes, visa requirements, and graduate outcomes.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister and it is rare inside here that many of my supplementary questions have already been answered so I appreciate the response. It was very thorough. We all know the importance of this review and going forward there will be so many PhD researchers engaged on issues relating to climate change, energy, public health policy, and so on in the next few years. It is very welcome the Minister has commenced this review and again I appreciate the response. As I said, many of the supplementary questions have already been answered but could the Minister clarify when he expects to have any recommendations? I do not expect him to have a crystal ball but will he give an indication whether quarter 1, quarter 2, quarter 3 or whatever he can in terms of when those recommendations might be expected and when they will be implemented?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I expect to receive the report in and around April. When it will be published will depend on how long it takes me to consider it and bring it to the Government and I want to publish it. My intention is to receive the report in due time to be able to consider it, bring it to Government, and then to try to start making progress on its recommendations in the Estimates process. We did make some progress in the last Estimates, but not nearly enough, in terms of increasing the stipends for Science Foundation Ireland, SFI, and Irish Research Council, IRC. One of the complexities, as I said earlier, is that there are around 10,000 annual doctoral enrolments in Ireland. Approximately 3,000 of those are funded through SFI. IRC gets a stipend of €18,500 that is now being increased to €19,000. There are approximately 2,000 doctoral enrolments funded directly by the higher education institutions. They receive different ranges of stipends. There are approximately 4,000 categorised as self-funding, that could be funded through industry, and around 1,000 from other various sources outside of my Department such as the Health Research Board, European programmes, and Teagasc. One of the things that would be really interesting for the review to do would be to look at the lack of consistency and equity and to give recommendations in that regard.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Táim sásta leis an bhfreagra sin agus sásta bogadh ar aghaidh go ceist No. 68.