Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Amendments Nos. 82, 86, 87 and 88 relate to section 37 regarding the assessment of applications and awards of funding for research and innovation and section 43 concerning non-compliance with conditions of funding for research and innovation. We cannot accept amendment No. 82 for the same reasons as stated regarding amendment No. 79. Funding award processes will be independent and adhere to international good practice, and the word "impartial" is not quite at home here because the agency will be bearing other considerations in mind, such as parity of esteem, equality, diversity and inclusion and inclusive practices and a balance of distributions.

Moving to amendments Nos. 86, 87 and 88, where there is very strong, credible evidence that a research programme is not operating or using funding as intended, the CEO may need to act quickly to ensure the situation does not continue. In terms of ensuring oversight and fairness, the roles of the board and the CEO in these sections must be carefully considered. Provisions are in place for the recipient to request an independent review, for an independent assessor to review the decision and for an external appeals process. These provisions are precisely as intended. For this reason, we do not propose to accept the amendments.