Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 October 2023
421. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine how many PhD researchers are funded by his Department, including those funded by agencies and bodies under the auspices of his Department, and who will not be receiving the increase in stipend to €22,000. [46158/23]
View answerFollowing on from the decision by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to provide funding to SFI and IRC that will enable them to increase their PhD stipends from €19,000 to €22,000 from January 2024, my Department is currently considering revisions to the stipend for Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine funded postgraduate students. The stipend for postgraduate students on DAFM funded research projects has been €19,000 since 2022. I and the Minister of State with responsibility for research and development in my Department hope to be in a position to make an announcement on this matter shortly.
The numbers of postgraduate students funded by my Department, Teagasc and the Marine Institute are currently 202, 174 and 44, respectively. However, it is important to note that these numbers are constantly fluctuating as some students complete their postgraduate studies while others are commencing theirs.
In relation to bodies or agencies under the auspices of my Department who also fund postgraduate students, their stipend rate is an operational matter for the bodies themselves, and this is an issue they are currently examining.
