I thank the Chair and members of the committee for the opportunity to participate in this vitally important process. I am a professor at the University College Dublin, UCD, school of medicine. Prior to this, I completed my postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School. For 27 years, I have been an active researcher and university teacher. I have received funding in the past from Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council as well as the National Institutes of Health in the USA, the Wellcome Trust in the UK and the European Union.
As an active researcher in my own right, and as a representative of the broader Irish research community, more than 2,500 of whom from all disciplines and career stages signed a letter to the Minister, Deputy Harris, I confirm that the Irish research community, like many of the other voices we heard today, is united in being extremely positive about the potential for this new Bill to lay the foundation for a new and improved research ecosystem that moves Ireland to the forefront of the international research community.
While researchers and the Department appear to be, to quote a member from the previous panel, “in violent agreement” in terms of our ambitions for this new agency, there are some broadly held concerns we are keen to have considered as the Bill is developed.
First, we would like to see Ireland’s Government budget allocation for research and development, GBARD, reach or perhaps exceed the EU average with the majority being allocated to fundamental research. We would like the quality of the research funded to be recognised in an unambiguous way according to international standards and clearly defining measures of research excellence. This should reflect the quality of research outputs generated and the mentorship and education provided. Innovation is often conflated with employability whereas it is actually high-quality, research-informed education that leads to the filling of high-quality jobs by Irish graduates. In summary, research excellence, be it for fundamental or applied research, should be clearly defined in the Bill and be the primary determinant of the fundability within this new agency.
Second, we feel it is most important to dissociate research from innovation. Irish research has suffered from an overemphasis on applied or oriented research at the expense of fundamental research where the application is often unknown at the time of knowledge generation. Furthermore, the role of individual principal investigator-driven projects, the funding approach used in successful research agencies, has been diminished and replaced by large, industry-oriented programmes. This has had negative consequences for the generation of high-quality academic research outputs, which boost Ireland’s research reputation, as well as the quality training and mentorship of PhD students and postdoctoral fellows. It has also left a large pool of untapped academic talent within the university research sector. To summarise, we were eager for this opportunity for the Bill to address the balance, and I use that word for emphasis, of funding provided to fundamental and principal investigator research.
Third, as has been mentioned, the governing board of the new agency will be key to its success. The board should have cross-disciplinary academic representation. As stated by the Minister, a key aspect of this agency is parity of esteem across disciplines. Therefore., if there is an arts, humanities and social sciences, AHSS, council, as has been suggested, then, logically, there should also be a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, STEM, council or, indeed, no councils. There should be no risk of politically motivated interference in funding decisions or no risk of ministerial overreach. In summary, we wish to see clear, transparent and fair governance within this new agency.
Fourth, a reliable and continuous funding stream is essential. Principal investigator and laureate programmes should remain in place over time to allow a reliable funding of successful researchers, that is, a consistent funding stream. Funding should cover all career stages to attract new talent, develop the talent we have and retain that talent within the Irish research ecosystem. A major obstacle to Irish research excellence that has been mentioned is the low pay and poor conditions and career prospects of the PhD students and postdoctoral fellows who are the lifeblood of the Irish research ecosystem.
In summary, on this point, we want funding streams to be career-spanning, reliable and predictable.
My fifth point, which is a smaller point, is that it is essential that there is a distinct funding source for core third-level research infrastructure. Finally, and vitally, we as a community would like to see that the great momentum this Bill has generated in the Irish research community is maintained and that the progress with the development of the Bill is not delayed by too much detail. The agency should be inclusive and should embrace diversity, equality, fairness and transparency.
To finish, we academic researchers embrace the opportunity to be a part of this. We will work hand in glove with the Department to ensure that Ireland is indeed backing the future.
