Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 October 2012
237. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Jobs; Enterprise and Innovation if he will detail all groups on which he is represented which deal with science and technology issues; and if he is proposing to review same. [40270/12]
View answerMinister Bruton and I are members of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Recovery and Jobs, which, inter alia, considers issues relating to Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy. An official from my Department chairs the Interdepartmental Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation, which reports to the Cabinet Committee and has overall responsibility for driving implementation of Government policy on STI.
I chair the Research Prioritisation Action Group, which was convened to drive implementation of the recommendations arising from the Research Prioritisation Report and to ensure that future public investment by research funders is aligned with the 14 areas of opportunity identified in the Report. My Department also chairs the Technology Ireland group, which allows representatives from the key research funding agencies to ensure maximum complementarity in their activities.
Officials from my Department are members of the Health Research Group, established to coordinate health research policy at a national level and of the Marine Coordination Group , which brings together representatives of Departments with an involvement in maritime issues including STI Policy issues.
I, Minister Bruton, and officials from my Department regularly attend a range of EU meetings concerned with STI policy including the European Council's Competitiveness configuration, which ensures an integrated approach to the enhancement of competitiveness and growth in Europe. Scientific Research and Technological Development is one of the three strands of this configuration. My Department represents Ireland on the Councils of the European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC) and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) as well as on the senior officials group of COST, a framework which supports cooperation between scientists and researchers across Europe. My Department also represents Ireland on the Council of the European Space Agency (ESA) and I will be attending the European Space Agency Council of Ministers later this year. Ireland’s membership of ESA provides and effective means for Irish companies to develop leading edge space technologies and to commercially exploit their ESA participation in global space and non-space markets.
An official from my Department serves on the board of Science Foundation Ireland and the Secretary General of my Department is a member of the board of Forfás which, inter alia, provides policy advice on science, technology and innovation matters. Officials from my Department also attend meetings of the Advisory Council on Science, Technology and Innovation, which is a sub-board of Forfás. An agreement between the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and UCC provides for the Minister to nominate a Departmental official to the board of the Tyndall National Institute, a UCC based centre for Information and Communications Technology research.
As part of the Research Prioritisation process, concluded at the end of last year, a comprehensive review of the Government's STI funding system was conducted to identify areas where effectiveness and efficiency could be improved and to ensure an increased focus on the outcomes and impacts of our STI investment. The Research Prioritisation Action Group is now driving implementation of a series of recommendations arising from this review which will ensure that our entire STI funding system is as efficient as possible.
