Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister of State said, it is great to see that this new agency will open the possibility of engaging in more partnerships and funding with a number of different groups.

I highlight that section 51(7)(b) provides:

a reference to a body to which this section applies means [and it proceeds to list a number of bodies] or (xi) a body established by or under an enactment in which functions are vested by statute or otherwise relating to purposes connected with the promotion and undertaking of research and innovation and that is prescribed by order of the Minister for the purposes of this section.

It is clear that there is that opportunity for any group that is partaking in research and innovation. We already see that there are Irish Research Council, IRC, pathway programmes now with SFI for postdoctoral researchers. It is great to see that these partnerships are already happening and that they have very much expanded over the past ten or 15 years, but we need to see more. There is an opportunity here with this new agency, Taighde Éireann, to do that.I cannot wait to see the agency eventually coming into place. It will be able to carry out even more engagement. There is engagement with organisations within Ireland but also internationally. The reason for this is that we are leveraging the excellence of research in Ireland and competing and working with excellence across the world. There is a real opportunity there for our PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and research assistants to grow, develop and build their careers due to the fact that we have these international partnerships and that Ireland is seen as excellent on the world stage.