Why Irish research needs a dedicated Cabinet minister

Does Ireland have a minister for research?

Responsibility for research over the past number of governments has been placed with the department responsible for enterprise and innovation and this Government is no different.

Research sits within the Department for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, in the charge of Mary Mitchell O'Connor. And again in keeping with previous governments, there is a junior minister straddling two departments – jobs and education – a reflection of the fact that while enterprise uses the discoveries made by scientists, it is the higher education institutions that make the research discoveries. The holder of this portfolio at present is John Halligan.

The role played by research in all of this is not immediately apparent when looking at how the portfolios are labelled. O'Connor is the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, the same as when Richard Bruton held the ministry. And Halligan is the Minister of State for Training, Skills and Innovation, a post that was known as the Minister of State for Research and Innovation under his predecessor, Damien English.

Budgetary defence

What’s in a name, as William Shakespeare might say; who cares what the titles are so long as the job is being done. But if I was a visiting dignitary representing a large multinational and I wanted to talk research, who do I go to in the current Government? One of the two innovation ministers, but which one? And which of them is leading the charge in defence of the research budget and in the hope that maybe there will be a little bit more to spend in 2017 when the budgetary figures are set?

This is not just another one for the optics, it is a deadly serious business if the Government has any hope (which they say they do) of becoming an innovation leader as a direct consequence of an increased spend on scientific research. Much of the foreign direct investment into Ireland over the past decade is driven by the State’s support for research and if this were missing would we continue to attract FDI at the current high level?

Having a politician serving a ministerial role in the defence and advancement of research at least allows us to recognise the goalie on the pitch, but you need that fluorescent yellow top – or the research word in your title – so people know who is responsible.

There are numbers of reasons why we need a politician who wears a shirt that has “research” printed on it somewhere.

1 – We need someone who will advance the priorities set in the research policy document Innovation2020, ensuring that the Cabinet subcommittee set up to do so does its job.

2 – We need someone to speak in support of adequate funding for research as a driver for economic growth and inward investment, and for its ability to boost our international reputation for science.

3 – We need someone to fight the good fight on behalf of higher education where much of the country’s best research takes place, ensuring there is provision made for people and facilities.

4 – We need someone to tell the public about the important role research and development plays in our society and the economy and also how it can improve their lives.

5 – We need someone in particular to battle for more money for research and certainly to reject falling budgets given the threat this poses to our aspirations to see the development of a true knowledge economy.

International reputations

The research funding bodies here get great value for money out of their investments. Researchers have managed to build international reputations for high quality work despite having to survive on very short rations. Imagine what they might accomplish if they knew adequate funding was available.

But this will not happen if we do not have someone who believes this to be important for the country, and not just a staging post on the way to the next general election. Given the amount of money involved and the risks inherent in this to the wider economy, we need someone who speaks as a minister or a minister of state. We need to see “research” on that jersey.

All this should have emerged soon after the election, however, and not when the negotiations for the forthcoming autumn budget are so far advanced. It may already be too late to have an impact on these negotiations given much of the work takes place during July.

If budgets do not hold, if researchers leave due to lack of opportunities, if our gains over the past decade melt away, then we will want to know who to talk to afterwards for failing to defend the research investment.