Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 February 2015
39. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his plans to review the Government's current plan on scientific research; when this review will be published; the consultation process involved in this review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5849/15]
View answerA successor to the Strategy for Science, Technology & Innovation (SSTI) 2006 – 2013 is being formulated and will provide the framework for the strategic direction to enable the delivery and support of effective research that produces outputs of maximum impact for Ireland’s economy and society. As the Deputy is aware, resource constraints and the economic downturn nationally and globally meant that, de facto, in recent years policy has been focused mainly around five core strategic policies:
- Prioritisation of public funds into areas of research that offer most potential for economic recovery and social progress;
- Consolidation of resources in units of scale with scientific excellence,
- Increased collaboration between academia and industry; and between academic and research performing institutions;
- International collaboration, to maximise return on investment and to optimise success under EU Framework programmes; and
- Facilitating the translation of knowledge and the transfer of technology into jobs.
It is now timely to place Research Prioritisation and the focus on research relevance and impact within a broader context and to develop and articulate a vision for science policy. An Interdepartmental Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation is working towards formulating the new Strategy. The new Strategy will seek to, inter alia:
- embed Research Prioritisation as a key policy objective to ensure a continued focus on public funding of research in areas of economic relevance to enterprise;
- maintain and build further the capacity and capability of people in academia and in enterprise through the acquisition and transfer of knowledge and in doing so, support excellent and impactful research across the full continuum from basic to applied as well as commercialisation of research;
- maintain and build further relevant infrastructures across all the sciences but in particular in areas of economic relevance to the enterprise base to address the jobs crisis;
- build on consolidation of the system by further enhancing its coherence and its accessibility to enterprise and society.
A consultation paper which serves as a scene setter and which poses key questions that need to be addressed in a new Strategy is being circulated this week to key stakeholders to seek their views. I expect to publish the new Strategy by Summer 2015.
