Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 April 2023
1810. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will provide details (details supplied) in relation to a research centre hosted by University College Dublin. [16712/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI should first explain that my Department provides resources for competitive research funding allocated through calls managed by Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council. This is in addition to the research funded by Higher Education Institutions through their block grants.
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are autonomous bodies established under statute and accordingly the distribution of funds for research or any other area is a matter to be managed appropriately at institutional level.
As the Deputy will be aware, HEIs are required to comply with all relevant Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) guidelines including as appropriate, the Public Spending Code. In addition the respective Codes of Governance for HEIs require that governing authorities should ensure that robust and effective systems and procedures are in place to oversee the use of resources.
My Department has made enquiries and I understand that iCRAG is the SFI Research Centre in Applied Geophysics and hosted by U.C.D. It is responsible for driving research in
• Sustainable discovery of energy resources and raw materials required for decarbonisation.
• Securing and protecting groundwater and marine resources.
• Protecting society from Earth’s hazards such as flooding and landslides.
It's current academic partners are: University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, University College Cork, University of Galway, Maynooth University, Dublin City University and Teagasc.
iCRAG’s current state partners are: Geological Survey Ireland, the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications and the Environmental Protection Agency.
iCRAG’s current industry partners are: Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), PIPCo RSG Ltd, Black Angel Mining A/S, Trevali Mining Corp., Boliden, CASP, Pavement Management Services (PMS), Silicate Carbon, Ireland Green Metals Ltd., Hannah Metals, Wills Bros Ltd., JP Barry & Partners, RPS Group, Gas Networks Ireland (GNI), Greenfields, Rio Tinto, Ecocem, Bord na Mona, Nagra, Equinor, and COMPROBE Chile.
The list of projects being undertaken by iCRAG is available on its website. Due to commercial sensitivities and confidentiality, it is not possible to provide a list of which industry partners fund which individual research projects, nor which partners are involved with individual projects.
iCRAG runs a wide variety of workshops, events, and programmes at which stakeholders, partners and members of the public attend. Details on such events can be found on the iCRAG website.
