Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
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448. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when the Government intends to open up the new PhD programme for PhD researchers that will be valued at €28,000 per annum; If he acknowledges that introducing a new stipend will cause an up-to €21,500 pay-gap between current and new researchers given that the current PhD stipends which are between €6,500 and €18,500 per annum for a full-time PhD, when their work and contribution to the Irish research economy is equal (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45713/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The new PhD programme to which the Deputy is referring is Innovate for Ireland.

The Taoiseach and I recently launched Innovate for Ireland, which is a new partnership between industry and the Government to recruit and retain research talent to Ireland.

Innovate for Ireland will commence in 2023 and the initial phase will seek to attract up to 400 high calibre PhD students to undertake research in Ireland that tackles national and global grand challenges such as climate change and climate adaptation; global health and pandemics; water poverty; digital society; and cybersecurity.

The programme will embrace all relevant disciplines from Science, Technology and Engineering to Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. It will also support excellent curiosity-driven research.

This programme aligns with my Department's Strategy Statement 2021-2023 and also the strategic goals of the Government’s recently launched R&I strategy, Impact 2030.

The next step in implementing the programme will be a competitive call for proposals from consortia of Higher Education Institutions, this is being developed and should be initiated later this year. Work has been undertaken by my Department, the Higher Education Authority, Irish Research Council, Science Foundation Ireland, Health Research Board and private sponsors on devising a possible call framework.

In relation to stipends in general, they are frequently a feature of funding globally, providing an income to the awardee in recognition of the need to devote themselves on a full-time basis to their research.

My Department is monitoring the issue of stipends, in the context of the resources available and the competing needs to which they can be allocated. In that regard, I allocated additional funding to the IRC in 2021 to enable it to increase postgraduate scholarship by €2,500 per annum, or 16%. This was made effective from 1 January 2021 and, together with an increase to funding for postdoctoral salaries, benefited close to 1,300 early-career researchers in the system. The move also aligned the stipend level for the Irish Research Council (IRC) and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI).

I am examining a range of options to support students in this year’s Budget, including PhD students.

Impact 2030, Ireland’s Research and Innovation Strategy prioritises the nurturing and development of talent and excellence to build on Ireland’s reputation as an Island of Talent and a location for research excellence and impact. The strategy recognises that the quality of our researchers is fundamental to the quality of our research system, its collaboration with partners in industry and policymakers, both in Ireland and abroad. The strategy also highlights the need to foster an environment within the research and innovation community that supports our ambition to be an Island of Inclusion and Engagement.