James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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199. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the progress made in the research and innovation sectors since 27 June 2020; the new initiatives undertaken; and the additional funding provided for them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62479/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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On 1 January 2021, responsibility for Ireland's research and innovation (R&I) policy transferred from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) to my Department. DETE had already commenced development of a new national R&I strategy to succeed Innovation 2020 and my officials continued this work. This led to the launch of Impact 2030: Ireland’s Research and Innovation Strategyon 18 May 2022. Impact 2030was informed and influenced by extensive stakeholder engagement and is a Whole-of-Government strategy that leverages our national performance to date to advance the strategic development of Ireland’s R&I system between now and 2030.

Significant progress has been made to deliver Impact 2030's 30 Flagship Initiatives under five Pillars, with three new oversight and governance structures driving implementation of Impact 2030. The Impact 2030Steering Group, comprising the five largest R&I funding Departments (which account for 95% of public funding for R&I) and the Department of the Taoiseach, steers R&I policy and leverages public and private investment in R&I. The Impact 2030Implementation Forum, comprising Government Departments and Agencies that fund and/or perform R&I, works together to maximise the collective return on public investment in R&I and is responsible for delivery of each of the three three-year Work Programmes to implement Impact 2030. Reflecting international good practice, my officials will establish a national Impact 2030R&I Advisory Forum formembers of the R&I community to advise on the strategic development and direction of the national R&I system. The terms of reference for this Forum are currently being developed and membership will be determined following a public Request for Expressions of Interest.

Finally, the 2020-2021 Research and Development Budget Survey, published by my Department in December 2021, showed that overall public investment in R&I has increased year on year since 2016 and reached an estimated €949.1m in 2021. My Department will publish the 2021-2022 edition of the survey soon.