Dáil Contribution on the Research and Innovation

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: The Minister will be aware of the pre-legislative scrutiny of the research and innovation Bill, which is before the Joint Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science at the moment. This Bill has been broadly welcomed across the sector. We in this country know the importance of research and innovation. We have new players now within the tertiary education system and that is our technological universities. However, they are curtailed in their participation in research both due to the contracts the lecturers are operating under, with the preponderance of teaching hours, and the availability of professorships within the technological universities. What plans does the Minister have to upscale and maximise the huge research potential that exists in this new technological university sector?

Deputy Simon Harris

I am very excited about the research Bill. It is a chance to get a stand-alone piece of research legislation right. Yesterday I announced that we will have a research advisory forum so we can hear directly from the community and from researchers to make sure we get it right. The Deputy is entirely correct. The establishment of five technological universities has been a big achievement for the Government and a big benefit for regional Ireland. The next step is new contract opportunities so they can achieve the scale of ambition that the Deputy and I both have for them. I intend to try to pursue that this year.