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

Amendment No. 18 deals with section 40 which addresses compliance with the conditions of funding for research and innovation. The agency is already limited by the objects in section 8 and the functions in section 9 and these guide every aspect of its operation. The objects and functions will support and guide all the co-operation it undertakes and this is already captured in section 35(1).

Amendments Nos. 21 and 22 relate to section 49 of the Bill which deals with funding partnerships. In accordance with Article 29.6 of the Constitution, it is a matter for the Oireachtas to determine the effects of any international agreement in the State. It would not be appropriate to delegate a power to the agency to make secondary legislation purporting to give effect to the decisions of the ICJ or of the European Court of Human Rights, ECHR.Article 59 of the statute of the International Court of Justice states: "The decision of the Court has no binding force except between the parties and in respect of that particular case." Accordingly, the decisions of the International Court of Justice are not binding on a State except where the State is a party to that decision and a State cannot contravene such a decision except where it is a party to the decision. Section 3(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 imposes obligations on every organ of the State to "perform its functions in a manner compatible with the State's obligations under the Convention". The 2003 Act will apply to the agency in the performance of its functions. Compliance with the State's obligations under the various other conventions cited are a matter for the Executive. The determination of the effects of these agreements is a matter for the Oireachtas.

The provision already in the Bill is for research and innovation of the highest standards of research ethics and integrity, which is within the scope of the Bill and the remit of the agency. Ethics and integrity requirements are guided by principle-specific codes and guidelines. Ethics and integrity related to research and innovation are national strengths in this regard. We have very high standards of principles of good practice in which our research community has a proud history and a deservedly positive reputation of upholding.

The Irish Universities Association recently updated a national policy on research integrity which has developed through the national research integrity forum and which the Irish Research Council and Science Foundation Ireland have contributed to substantially. Where there are ethics concerns, approval is secured from the appropriate ethics committee and other appropriate regulatory bodies. The institutional duty of care is fully considered and acted upon.

We are requiring the higher standards. We do not wish to obscure or diminish the ambition we have for this agency by inserting what is already a legal requirement in existing statutory framework and which is a much lower bar than the one we are setting for research funded by the agency in the existing text. Inserting these provisions would possibly, by inference, have the unintended consequence of implying that the agency can only desist from an existing funding relationship at the discretion of the Minister and-or in the event of a breach of human rights or international law, which is not the intention of the provision here. We will be requiring the highest standard of research ethics integrity regarding all funding arrangements in which the agency engages, and this is supported by the principles laid out in the objectives and the remit laid out in the functions in the Bill. There are rigorous reporting requirements and requirements for openness and transparency. Therefore, we do not propose to accept the amendments.