Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 70:

In page 21, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following: "(iii) the Irish Congress of Trade Unions,".

In the Bill, there is an anomaly in the corporate plan of the agency. The Bill sets out that the corporate plan shall include the objectives, outputs and other strategies, and that, in preparing it, the agency consults with a number of key actors. On the key actors who are mentioned here, I believe there is a slight concern that the Bill may skew the shaping of that corporate plan in terms of those issues that we have talked about such as parity of esteem, recognising the need for public research for the public good and the diverse outputs that we need from our universities and the crucial role they play in solving many of the collective challenges we face. When it comes to the corporate plan of the agency, the preparation and the consultation is with the Minister, which is appropriate, with An tÚdarás, which is appropriate, and then with Enterprise Ireland and the Industrial Development Agency and such other bodies as it considers appropriate. They will definitely be speaking to Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland whereas other groups - that may have a really important contribution and that the corporate plan should perhaps be checked by to ensure that it is serving all of society and not, for example, merely certain business interests, not that they are not important but that it is not overly focused on serving enterprise and business goals - are there as an option only.

This set of amendments seeks to slightly widen the list of bodies which the agency would consult with. I am not removing Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland, but seeking to ensure that we have something that approaches a wider balance when the agency is developing its corporate plan by ensuring that they would, for example, also consult with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, which represents a huge swathe of Irish society and has much to contribute. For example, in the area of just transition, it is trade unions that have led the way in terms of the ideas and the solutions that may work in ensuring that we can as a society take action in respect of climate change in a way that also is sustainable for society.

Amendment No. 71 adds the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science as a body with which the agency would consult in developing its corporate plan. Amendment No. 72 suggests another approach to ensuring that the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science would be consulted with.

I wanted to indicate now also my intention to amend a section later in the Bill where we discuss the question of some of the bodies with which there may be administrative co-operation. Enterprise Ireland is there. I believe that the Health Research Board and the EPA should be reflected. I do not have it in this but I am indicating my intention to table an amendment that the Health Research Board and the Environmental Protection Agency are bodies the agency should perhaps consult with.

In terms of the bodies the agency may co-operate with, which arises later, there are a number of really important bodies I will suggest we might add in, including, for example, local authorities, Coimisiúm na Meán and the Heritage Council. There is a variety of important bodies in Irish society that may provide appropriate partnerships. I am not putting all of them in the must-consult-with section, but to simply have Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland creates a real danger of a corporate plan which is effectively skewed towards channelling our research and innovation primarily towards corporate interests rather than towards the other areas of public good, as set out, for example, by the Health Research Board or the Environmental Protection Agency. I refer to goals which may not be profit-making for individuals but are of extraordinarily important value for society and which may not be to the foreground in the room when the corporate plan is being made unless they are consulted with. These are my concerns around section 23 in general. Amendments Nos. 70 and 71 reflect that concern.

Amendments Nos. 72 and 73 relate to the annual plan of the agency. The first two of the amendments were amendments on the corporate plan but in terms of the annual plan, I also suggest that there may be engagement with the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. I have one amendment seeking that there would be consultation and another amendment which might be around the preparation of the annual plan and approval of that committee. I realise the latter amendment is possibly a bar too far. The consultation amendment, No. 72, represents a reasonable compromise. I hope the Minister of State might be able to accept that.