Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Byrne for raising this very important issue. I will provide an update on behalf of the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Simon Harris, with regard to the current condition of research infrastructure and equipment in Irish universities.

The Minister would wish to state at the outset that higher education institutions are autonomous bodies and are responsible for their own day-to-day management and operational affairs, including the management of academic affairs. All capital projects advanced by publicly funded higher education institutions must comply with the provisions of the public spending code.

The revised national development plan, NDP, provides for Exchequer investment of nearly €2.9 billion in further and higher education infrastructure, research and innovation over the five-year period from 2021 to 2025. There is €633 million available to the Department in 2023 in capital funding. This comprises the NDP capital allocation for 2023 of €578 million, in addition to the carryover of moneys from 2022 of €55 million. The general areas that will benefit from this capital funding break down as follows: research and innovation, €297 million; higher education capital, €234 million; further education and training capital, €60 million; higher education public private partnerships, €40 million; Higher Education Authority capital, €1 million; and corporate, €1 million.

While these substantial sums are being invested in our further and higher education sectors, I recognise that there are challenges to be addressed. The Department is aware of concerns expressed by the Irish Universities Association, IUA, in relation to the current condition of our research infrastructure and equipment. This matter was raised by the IUA on Tuesday during a meeting of the joint Oireachtas committee. The IUA considers that more than 50% of the equipment among its members is more than ten years old while one third of it is 15 years old. The overarching objective of Impact 2030 is to ensure that Ireland’s collective research and innovation investments and activities make as big a difference as possible to as many people as possible. If our support for research infrastructure is to reflect the need to attract and retain researchers of the highest calibre, we must ensure they have the tools required for their research with access to modern infrastructure and equipment.

The SFI research infrastructure programme supports the research community in building and sustaining the required infrastructure capacity to accomplish high-quality, high-impact and innovative research in areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics that enhance and support enterprise, competitiveness and sectoral development in Ireland. This recognises the need for continued investment in cutting-edge research equipment and infrastructure in areas of national priority. SFI holds periodic infrastructure calls. There were three calls over the period from 2015 to 2021. There was a total of 76 awardees over the period from 2015 to 2020, with a total awarded of €127 million and an average award value of €1.7 million. Funding of €53.3 million across 33 awards was made under the 2021 programme. The Minister is aware of the concerns raised by the IUA and will continue to monitor this issue within the confines of available resources and competing needs.