Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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70. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the proportion of his Department’s research budget which is allocated for new research versus earmarked or pre-committed to existing programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55974/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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My department is leading the implementation of the ambitious suite of actions laid out in Impact 2030 - Ireland's research and innovation strategy. Taighde Éireann - Research Ireland was established in mid 2024 as Ireland's new competitive research funding agency. The agency has a new, broad remit, with new programmes and programme redesign being rolled out on a phased basis. It is important that we ensure continuity of support and minimal disruption for our researchers, so these changes are being brought through in a staged and carefully planned manner. This ensures that any changes can be effectively communicated and that adequate stakeholder consultation has taken place.

To this end, the agency is preparing a five year corporate plan, and has engaged in an intensive programme of stakeholder consultation with researchers, higher education institutions, research performing organisations and research funding government departments. These engagements have informed the development of the agency corporate plan, which is due to be completed in Q4 2025.

The agency is also preparing its annual plan, detailing its anticipated programme allocations across all agency programmes. As provided for in the legislation, the agency prepares and submits an annual plan to the Minister, outlining the proposed activities for the year, and the performance targets relating to those activities. This plan will be finalised in the coming months and these figures will only be fully worked through when the annual plan is submitted for approval and publication.

In 2026, Research Ireland will establish new, globally competitive Research Centres, which will play a crucial role in keeping Ireland internationally competitive. These centres will drive research and innovation in areas of national strategic importance, provide PhD training aligned with future skills needs, support regional development and smart specialisation, compete for European Union funding, and collaborate with industry to ensure knowledge transfer from our Higher Education Institutes to the wider economy and society.

In 2026, Research Ireland will:

Launch a new competition to establish the second wave of Centres for Research Training. These virtual centres will bring together leading researchers who will train cohorts of PhD researchers, collaborate and build agile and scalable capacity in critical areas of national needs (beyond the Research Centres).

The first awards will be made under the new flagship Research Ireland Investigators Programme, which will fund excellent research and innovation across all disciplines and career stages, including interdisciplinary research, realising one of the key benefits of the new research agency. This programme will support researchers in undertaking cutting-edge work, train PhDs, and retain top talent within our Higher Education Institutes and public research bodies.

Commence awards under Global Talent Ireland, a key Government initiative in the current global environment, designed to attract outstanding international researchers to Irish higher education institutions and public research bodies. The programme is designed to attract international research talent to Ireland and represents a critical initiative in the current global environment, to attract outstanding international researchers. The initiative will have a preliminary budget of €8 million per annum, with additional funding to be sought as it scales up.

I also intend to ensure the commencement of a new programme of investment in research infrastructure and equipment for the sector, with officials of my Department advancing planning in this regard on an urgent basis.