Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 April 2024
705. Deputy Brian Leddin asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to list the members of the Steering Group, Implementation Forum and Advisory Forum of Impact 2030: Ireland’s Research and Innovation Strategy; and whether minutes of the meeting of each body are published online. [17636/24]
View answerDelivery of Impact 2030 is a collective effort by a range of Government Departments and their Agencies, each of which is responsible for advancing the R&I agenda in the sectors under their remits. The strategy is driven by DFHERIS by bringing together research funding and performing Departments and Agencies to ensure a cohesive, Whole-of-Government approach is achieved.
As part of this approach, the Department is currently overseeing two new oversight and governance structures – the Impact 2030 Steering Group and the Implementation Forum; with the third, to be known as the R&I Policy Advisory Forum (RIPAF), currently being formed. The RIPAF will be comprised of national and international experts and key representative organisations who will engage on system-level strategic issues.
The Impact 2030 Steering Group is made up of representatives from the five largest R&I funding Departments – DFHERIS; the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE); the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM); the Department of Health (D/Health); and the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) (which account for 95% of public funding for R&I) in addition to the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEIDY). Its current members are:
Deirdre Lillis and David Keating, DFHERIS; John Newham, DETE; Bill Callanan, DAFM; Muiris O'Connor, D/Health; Brian Carroll, DECC; John Shaw and Nigel Clarke, D/Taoiseach; and Laura McGarrigle, DCEIDY.
The Impact 2030 Implementation Forum is made up from all 18 Government Departments and 15 Agencies that fund and/or perform R&I. This forum engages with and supports the work of the Steering Group and together they maximise the collective return on public investment in R&I. Its current members are:
Deirdre Lillis, Trudy Duffy and David Keating, DFHERIS; Paul Cotter, D/Finance; Muiris O'Connor, D/Health; John O'Neill, D/Health; Mairead O' Driscoll, HRB; Ana Terres, HSE; Alice Wainwright, D/Justice; John Shaw, D/Taoiseach; Keith Walsh, D/Transport; Bill Callanan, DAFM; Niall McDonough, Marine Institute; Raymond Kelly, Teagasc; Laura McGarrigle, DCEIDY; Aideen Hartney, National Disability Authority; Marian Brattman, Tusla; Brian Carroll, DECC; Eimear Cotter, EPA; Koen Verbruggen, GSI; Margie McCarthy, SEAI; John Newham, DETE; Marina Donohoe and Imelda Lambkin, Enterprise Ireland; Kevin Flynn, IDA; Karl Gardner, DFA; Catriona Ryan and Louise Callinan, HEA; Peter Brown, IRC; Ciarán Seoighe, SFI; Josephine Prendergast, DHLGH; Marianne Cassidy, DPER; Charlie O’Regan, ESRI; Kenneth Jordan, DRCD; Niall Egan, DSP; and Joe Healy, DTCAGSM.
An official from DFHERIS also attends these meetings and acts as Secretariat to both groups. While minutes are taken at every meeting of the Steering Group and Implementation Forum, these are currently only circulated to members for information and theme/action development purposes and are not currently published online. However, yearly Progress Reports on the Impact 2030 Strategy (which these groups help to implement) are published on gov.ie.
