Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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330. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there is a commitment in the Programme for Government to merge Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28596/22]

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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331. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the public consultation that was carried out on proposals to merge Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28597/22]

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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332. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the rationale for the merger of Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council; the origin of the proposal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28598/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 330, 331 and 332 together.

The Programme for Government Our Shared Future includes a commitment to ensure that Ireland is a global leader in research and innovation across the arts, humanities, social sciences and STEM. Consequently, Impact 2030: Ireland's Research and Innovation Strategy was published recently and positions research and innovation at the heart of addressing Ireland's societal, economic and environmental challenges.  

Impact 2030 is structured around five pillars.

- maximise the impact of research and innovation on the economy, society and the environment;

- impact, evidence and evaluation will be central to the alignment of research and innovation activity with national needs

- promote innovation driving enterprise success, particularly in the SME sector

- ensure that talent is at the heart of the research and innovation research system

- strengthening all- island, EU and global connectivity.  

A wide-ranging consultation process informed development of the strategy, which included a public consultation process held in summer 2021. An online survey yielded 115 written submissions and an online stakeholder event and workshop attended by 120 participants from across Ireland’s R&I system. A clear message arising from the consultation process was the need to position research and innovation at the heart of responding to national challenges. Another was the need to improve how the R&I system itself works.  

Arising from this context, a key initiative in Impact 2030 is to bring a landmark Research Bill to government to create a new competitive research and innovation funding agency, combining and building on the missions of the Irish Research Council and Science Foundation Ireland. The agency will not only support research across all disciplines, but it will enable greater interdisciplinary research activity in Ireland. This amalgamation will also improve coordination of funding activities, administrative efficiencies and it will simplify the suite of supports for researchers, while building on both funders’ respective existing track records and international reputations.  

A critical first action toward the new agency’s establishment will be a mapping of existing supports in order to identify any duplication or gaps, as well as complementarity with other funding agencies that come under the remit of other Government Departments. Its creation will be based on extensive consultation and a due diligence process which will identify the optimal structure needed to give effect to the intended role, functions and activities of this new agency.