Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Whether it is to be called research Ireland or Taighde Éireann, the number one priority for this agency is the availability of funding. That is what this agency has to do. The people operating the agency and those on its board need to be fighting for funding. They need to get Exchequer funding for the agency to distribute to researchers. That has to be the number one priority of this agency and its board. I was previously a contract researcher. From my experience in that position in Galway, I understand the importance of funding - Exchequer funding and non-Exchequer funding. We see so much funding from Horizon Europe and other European and international sources coming into our universities, but they fund projects that are time-limited. These are projects for five or six years or whatever it may be. They take on people and offer opportunities for work as postdocs, PhD students or research assistants. The whole gamut of research activities, profiles and careers is outlined there. There needs to be an awful lot more work done. I know the IUA has its career framework for researchers. We also need to see that the funding coming in means more opportunities for researchers to develop and progress their careers. There were fewer such opportunities ten or 20 years ago. It is crucial that the people who are on this board and part of this agency will be driving funding towards researchers and into colleges, including working with non-Exchequer funds. A key element of this is in the supports for and development of that research career profile and trajectory.Science Foundation Ireland previously sat within another Department, namely, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. There was a reason for that, which is that when research and innovation move through the different areas of impact, they eventually will come out into the community and society and will have a commercial application. Having a commercial application means it is available for people to use, be that in medicine, our hospitals or across a wide range of areas. It is important to understand there is an important element of enterprise linked to the outcomes of research. It is important we have that skill set and that is acknowledged. I believe there is a key liaison and link between innovation and it being brought into society and the community, and it being developed. We see that now with the Enterprise Ireland agencies and the technology officers that already operate in a university setting.