Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 115: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if her attention has been drawn to the difficulties facing professional researchers both in terms of securing permanent employment and choosing a career path; her views on whether meeting these challenges is particularly important in order to enhance Ireland's position as an attractive research location for Irish and international researchers and that meeting these challenges is an urgent matter in view of the rapid increase in PhD graduates here; the steps she has taken to implement the Forfás report Towards a Framework for Researcher Careers since its publication in October 2008; the number of times the researcher careers working group has met since the publication of the report; the progress it has made; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27301/09]

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation (SSTI) 2006-2013 aims to ensure that Ireland, by 2013, will be internationally renowned for the excellence of its research, and will be to the forefront in generating and using new knowledge for economic and social progress, within an innovation driven culture. The SSTI recognises the vital contribution that highly educated, professional and effective researchers can make to the development of Ireland's knowledge economy. It acknowledges the importance of putting conditions in place to facilitate our Higher Education Institutions, Public Sector Research Institutes and private enterprise in the recruitment and retention of such researchers. The Strategy highlights the importance of people embarking on 4th level studies having a clear sense of career path options, whether they be in academia, enterprise or administration and calls for the development of a sustainable career path for researchers.

Following publication of the SSTI, the Advisory Science Council (ASC) was requested to consider how the Government could best facilitate the development of researcher careers and to prepare recommendations. The Council's report 'Towards a Framework for Researcher Careers' was published in October 2008. The report contains a number of key recommendations including:

The establishment of a distinctive and transparent Framework for Developing Professional Careers within the HEIs which would also be recognised and have relevance for the enterprise sector;

That terms and conditions under which researchers are employed should be consistent irrespective of the sources of funding for their positions;

That funding agencies and HEIs should establish a programme to ensure Ireland reaches the EU average of female participation rates among senior academic levels by 2018;

That funding agencies should increase the level of funding available to humanities and social sciences to further support researcher careers in these disciplines;

That the HEIs, public sector research institutes and enterprise need collectively to develop and implement a researcher careers competency framework;

That a national programme should be established providing career information, including information on the personal and professional researcher skills required by each sector – HEIs, the public sector and enterprise,

That, as the first stage of professional career development of researchers, Graduate Schools should be developed to ensure PhD students learn practical business skills such as project management, people and financial management, marketing and skills required for the commercialisation of research;

That funding agencies should facilitate international mobility, both inward and outward, among all researchers by providing continuity of funding to those seeking international experience and those that seek to return to Ireland.

The Higher Education Research Group (HERG), which is chaired by the Department of Education and Science, oversees and has responsibility for the coherent development of policy and funding initiatives arising under the SSTI which pertain to the higher education and research sector. Following publication of the ASC's report, a Researchers Careers Working Group was subsequently established under the aegis of the Higher Education Research Group to focus on the development of a clearly and broadly consistent path for career progression across the higher education sector. The group is chaired by the Department of Education and Science and comprises representatives of employers, funders and promoters of research, the Higher Education Authority and Forfás.

My colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, has informed me that the Researcher Careers Group has met on three occasions to date. In addition DES have engaged in bilateral meetings with a number of key stakeholders. The Group has recently concluded its work and has prepared a report containing proposals to develop a framework for a national researcher careers structure which incorporates clear definitions of title, a performance development and appraisal system, continuing professional skills development and is underpinned by the guiding principle that attainment of titles must be based on a transparent, open and competitive process. An initial briefing on the Researchers Careers Working Group report has been given to the HERG and it is proposed to formally submit the report to the next scheduled meeting of the HERG in September.