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

Section 51 contains a clause which gives the Minister powers to prescribe bodies to be added to the list contained therein. That will provide a complete description of all agencies and bodies that the agency will be charged with co-operating with as part of a cohesive overall national research and innovation ecosystem. Work is under way to scope and map the additions. When this work is completed, an order will be drafted to add the appropriate bodies to the list. For the moment, however, we are simply including the most relevant funded agencies in the research and innovation space. There is appropriate clarity there in the context of the existing provision.