Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 18 seeks to insert a new subsection into section 40. In our parliamentary work, I have long advocated for increased public investment in public research for the public good and for targeted scientific, environmental and humanities research which responds to the challenges of our time. The proposal here will not only allow for positive measures in terms of positive ethical goals and human rights goals within research, and encourage and support that, but it will also make sure that we do not see crucial resources directed away from the research areas which serve us in our common humanity.I will go through amendments Nos. 18, 21 and 22 one by one. Amendment No. 19 is separate, is it? All these amendments are attempts to ensure that Ireland is not compromised in respect of international law in terms of relevant ethical standards and human rights. As we know, and as we have discussed, there is a real danger and a concern about proposals that were being made in respect of the Horizon fund. We could have seen schemes funded by this fund, which has an explicitly civil focus, redirected. There was a proposal by the European Commission that it might be redirected towards some of the work undertaken by the European defence fund and that there would be a blurring of the lines between military research and civilian research.

I outlined in great detail on Committee Stage why this is a concern. We have to look to Ireland's crucial record on the cluster munitions conventions, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, NPT, and the fact Ireland has a huge and important record on disarmament and that so much of our international credibility rests on our neutrality. This neutrality is an active thing, which means respect for international law and international principles and applying those principles equally to all, rather than selectively, on a basis of interest, or making our foreign policy and defence decisions on the basis of interest. We only make our defence and military decisions on the basis of principles of international law applied equally to all. The fact that Ireland has that neutrality and credibility has been invaluable to us. It has been invaluable to the partnerships and connections Ireland has made all over the world, because we are respected for the fact that we do not have blood on our hands from wars of interest or conflicts that have breached human rights law or that have led to the kinds of obscene civilian casualties we are seeing in conflicts around the world right now. As a neutral country and a champion for disarmament, Ireland has a lot to lose if we see a new era of the arms industry and if we see the bottomless greed of the military-industrial complex seeking to suck up and take research funding which should be directed towards the common human challenges we face to make a better world and to ensure we have real social cohesion across societies and that we face the existential crisis that is climate change. However, there is a danger that sense will not prevail and that we may see a blurring of lines within some of the research funding. In that context, Ireland needs to be equipped to act and to ensure that if there are projects which Ireland is funding or has funded and they engage in actions or they direct their research towards goals which will breach international law or human rights, then Ireland needs to be in a position whereby we pull our funding.

I listened very carefully to the debate on Committee Stage. The Minister of State will be aware that on Committee Stage I suggested a separate process in respect of this. I have now listened very carefully to the Minister of State pointing out that there is a process under section 43 which allows for the termination of funding when the conditions of funding are not met. That explicitly gives power to the chief executive to terminate funding when the conditions of funding are not met. What I am now trying to do is to ensure that we are explicitly clear that the conditions of funding shall include a requirement for research projects to comply with relevant ethical standards, human rights and international law. That then makes it easier in terms of the kinds of things we see with amendment No. 22. This amendment outlines where the Minister may be able to terminate such agreements, where agreements have been made between the agency and other bodies. Amendment No. 18 would insert it very naturally into the powers of the chief executive and it would allow that when they are exercising their powers under section 43 and they state they do not want to fund a project anymore because of non-compliance with the conditions of funding, they are able to point to non-compliance with ethical standards, international law or the basic principles of human rights, as a basis for terminating funding. This would actually strengthen the hand of the chief executive and it would give them a proper mandate and a very useful tool. It would ensure that we do not have situations - as we have at present - of joint projects between Irish institutions and Israel that are potentially complicit in relation to technologies and other areas of research and development that may be employed in the breaching of human rights in Gaza. This is a significant concern and is being talked about in the encampments and universities right across Ireland. Right across the world we hear students saying that they do not want their universities or higher education institutions to be in partnership with or engaging in projects or producing research and innovation that will be utilised in a way that is going to breach human rights or that will go against the International Court of Justice, ICJ, the highest court in the world.

The ICJ made a very explicit reminder under the Genocide Convention, which Ireland is a party to, that provisional measures are needed to ensure that we do not see a genocide take place in Gaza. That is happening right now and what we do not want is a situation whereby a future agency can say that its hands are tied and it has no way of terminating its funding and extricating itself from a project because it never included in the conditions that the project partner had to not breach human rights law and not contribute to genocide. This is the chance right now to insert that into the conditions of funding, so that if these situations arise in the future, there is a clear, appropriate and legally mandated mechanism that can be used to ensure Irish institutions and researchers are not implicated in projects that breach international law in this way.

These amendments are an opportunity. Amendment No. 22 relates to partnership arrangements and agreements but the most important amendment in this group is probably amendment No. 18. I hope the Minister of State will consider its inclusion.