Research and Innovation Act 2024

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Year: 2024
• Citation: IR No. 15/2024

Research and Innovation Act 2024

2024 15

An Act to make further provision for the funding of research and innovation in all fields of activity and disciplines and, for that purpose, to provide for the establishment and functions of a body to be known as Taighde Éireann; to provide for the dissolution of Science Foundation Ireland, the transfer of its staff, records, assets and liabilities to Taighde Éireann; to amend the Higher Education Authority Act 2022 and to provide for the transfer of certain members of staff and records, assets and liabilities relating to research of An tÚdarás um Ard-Oideachas to Taighde Éireann; to provide for the repeal of certain provisions of the Industrial Development (Science Foundation Ireland) Act 2003, the Industrial Development (Science Foundation Ireland) (Amendment) Act 2013 and the Industrial Development (Forfás Dissolution) Act 2014; and to provide for related matters.

[4 June 2024]

Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:

1 Short title and commencement

(1) This Act may be cited as the Research and Innovation Act 2024.

(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may by order or orders appoint either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

2 Interpretation

(1) In this Act—

“Act of 2022” means the Higher Education Authority Act 2022;

“Agency” has the meaning assigned to it by section 7;

“An tÚdarás” means An tÚdarás um Ard-Oideachas;

“appeals board” has the meaning assigned to it by section 44(1);

“applicant” has the meaning assigned to it by section 36;

“application” has the meaning assigned to it by section 36;

“assessors” has the meaning assigned to it by section 10(4);

“award of funding” has the meaning assigned to it by section 37(8);

“Board” means the Board of the Agency;

“Chief Executive Officer”, in relation to the Agency, has the meaning assigned to it by section 28;

“committee of the Board” means a committee of the Board established by the Board under section 19;

“conditions of funding”, in relation to an award of funding, has the meaning assigned to it by section 37(9);

“Data Protection Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 ¹1 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation);

“designated institution of higher education” has the meaning it has in the Act of 2022;

“dissolved body” has the meaning assigned to it by section 54;

“establishment day” means the day appointed under section 6;

“funding scheme” has the meaning assigned to it by section 35;

“higher education provider” has the meaning it has in the Act of 2022;

“information” includes data;

“innovation” means the development and use of new ideas, methods, products, processes, policies and services where they have not been used previously;

“Minister” means the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science;

“outcomes and, where appropriate, the impact”, in relation to research and innovation, means—

(a)

the likely or achieved changes and effects of a research and innovation activity, and

(b)

the extent to which that activity is expected to generate or has generated significant effects (which may be positive or negative, intended or unintended) on economic, social, cultural and environmental development and sustainability,

and such changes and effects may become apparent in the short term, medium term or long term and may vary in different fields of activity and disciplines of research and innovation;

“personal data” has the meaning it has in the Data Protection Regulation;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under section 3;

“processing”, in relation to personal data, has the meaning it has in the Data Protection Regulation;

“recipient of funding” has the meaning assigned to it by section 37(8);

“research” means creative and systematic work in any discipline that is undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge (including knowledge of humankind, culture and society) and to devise new applications of available knowledge;

“standard and quality”, in relation to research and innovation, means the standard and quality of the research and innovation assessed and evaluated by reference to international good practices in the relevant field of activity or discipline of research and innovation, including adherence to policies and good practices regarding ethics, integrity and the conduct of research and innovation in that field or discipline.

(2) In this Act, references to research and innovation shall be construed as references to research or innovation or both.

(3) In this Act, references to environmental development and sustainability shall be construed as references to development and actions that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, includes actions in respect of social, economic, cultural and environmental development, climate and biodiversity.

¹ OJ No. L119, 4.5.2016, p. 1

3 Regulations and orders

(1) The Minister may by regulations provide for any matter referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed.

(2) Without prejudice to any provision of this Act, regulations under this section may contain such incidental, supplementary and consequential provisions as appear to the Minister to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the regulations.

(3) An order (other than an order under section 1(2) or 6) and regulations made under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after the order or regulation is made and, if a resolution annulling the order or regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the order or regulation is laid before it, the order or regulation, as the case may be, shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

4 Expenses

4. The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

5 Repeals and revocation

(1) Each of the following is repealed:

(a)

Part 2 of the Industrial Development (Science Foundation Ireland) Act 2003;

(b)

sections 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Industrial Development (Science Foundation Ireland) (Amendment) Act 2013;

(c)

sections 11, 12 and 13 of the Industrial Development (Forfás Dissolution) Act 2014.

(2) The Science Foundation Ireland Superannuation Scheme 2016 (S.I. No. 594 of 2016) is revoked.

6 Establishment day

6. The Minister shall, by order, appoint a day to be the establishment day for the purposes of this Act.

7 Establishment of Agency

(1) There shall stand established on the establishment day a body, which shall be known as Taighde Éireann (in this Act referred to as “the Agency”), to perform the functions conferred on it by or under this Act.

(2) The Agency shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal and shall have the power to sue, and may be sued, in its corporate name and may, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, acquire, hold and dispose of land, an interest in land or any other property.

(3) The official seal of the Agency shall be authenticated by—

(a)

the signatures of 2 members of the Board, or

(b)

the signatures of a member of the Board and a member of the staff of the Agency authorised by the Board to act in that behalf.

(4) Judicial notice shall be taken of the official seal of the Agency and, accordingly, any document—

(a)

purporting to be an instrument made by the Agency, and

(b)

purporting to be sealed with the official seal of the Agency authenticated in accordance withsubsection (3),

shall, unless the contrary is shown, be received in evidence and taken to be such an instrument without further proof.

8 Objects of Agency

8. The Agency shall have regard to the following objects in performing its functions:

(a) to promote the attainment and maintenance of excellence in the standard and quality of research and innovation undertaken;

(b) to support the undertaking of research and innovation in all fields of activity and disciplines by researchers with different levels of knowledge, experience and specialist skills in such fields or disciplines;

(c) to promote and support the contribution made by research and innovation to economic, social, cultural and environmental development and sustainability in the State;

(d) to strengthen the engagement of the research and innovation system with—

(i) the Government, Ministers of the Government and bodies (whether statutory or otherwise) which are funded wholly or partly by public moneys, and

(ii) enterprise, non-governmental organisations, cultural institutions and society generally;

(e) to promote and develop the reputation of the State internationally as a location that is favourable for undertaking research and innovation;

(f) to advance the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion with regard to opportunities to undertake research and innovation and in the undertaking of that research and innovation.

9 Functions of Agency

(1) The functions of the Agency shall be to—

(a)

promote the objects of the Agency,

(b)

promote and develop research and innovation in the State by designing and administering funding...