Ireland
Facts & FiguresIreland
Where
Research infrastructure
According to preliminary data, there were 37,310 full-time researchers in Ireland in 2019 [1]. Ireland has 8 universities, 2 technological universities 3 colleges and 9 institutes of technology [2]. In 2019, Technological University Dublin was established by merging 3 institutes of technology [3]. Similarly, Munster Technological University was established in 2021 by merging 2 institutes of technology. Other institutes of technology are planning to merge in the coming years [4]. Ireland also has 8 Technology Centres [5]; 7 of these are located within the higher education institutions.
| Organisation | City/Town |
| Public universities | |
| Dublin City University | Dublin |
| University College Cork | Cork |
| National University of Ireland Galway | Galway |
| Maynooth University | Maynooth |
| Trinity College Dublin | Dublin |
| University College Dublin | Dublin |
| University of Limerick | Limerick |
| Technological University Dublin | Dublin |
| Munster Technological University | Cork and Tralee |
| Private universities | |
| Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland | Dublin |
| Institutes of Technology | |
| Athlone Institute of Technology | Athlone |
| Dundalk Institute of Technology | Dundalk |
| Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology | Dun Laoghaire |
| Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology | Five campuses across counties Galway and Mayo |
| Institute of Technology Carlow | Carlow |
| Institute of Technology Sligo | Sligo |
| Limerick Institute of Technology | Limerick |
| Letterkenny Institute of Technology | Letterkenny |
| Waterford Institute of Technology | Waterford |
| Colleges | |
| St. Angela’s College | Sligo |
| National College of Art & Design | Dublin |
| Mary Immaculate College | Limerick |
- ↑ Eurostat. R&D personnel by sector of performance, professional position and sex. Last update 2021 March 10. [cited 2021 April 26]. Available from: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/rd_p_persocc/default/table?lang=en
- ↑ HEA Higher Education Authority. Higher Education Institutions. [cited 2021 April 26]. Available from: https://hea.ie/higher-education-institutions/?v=l
- ↑ HEA Higher Education Authority. Higher Education Institutions. TU Dublin. [cited 2021 April 26]. Available from: https://hea.ie/higher-education-institutions/tu-dublin/
- ↑ HEA Higher Education Authority. New Technological Universities will be created under the reforms set out in Ireland’s National Strategy for Higher Education. [cited 2021 May 20]. Available from: https://hea.ie/policy/he-reform/technological-universities/
- ↑ Enterprise Ireland. Research & Innovation. [cited 2021 April 26]. Available from: https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/research-innovation/companies/collaborate-with-companies-research-institutes/technology-centres.html
Research funding
In 2019, the gross expenditures on research and development were €4.027 million, which comprises 1.13 % of the country’s GDP. Most funding was spent in the business sector (75%), higher education (20.73%) and government sector (4.29%) [1].
Ireland had 2008 grants receiving €1.12 billion funding from H2020 (6). It also had 111 ERC signed grants receiving €154.7 million from H2020 [2].
- ↑ Government of Ireland. The Research and Development Budget (R&D) 2019-2020. Government Budget Allocations for R&D. [cited 2021 May 11]. Available from: https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/Publications/Publication-files/The-R-D-Budget-2019-2020.pdf
- ↑ H2020 Projects. [cited 2021 April 27]. Available from: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/dashboard/sense/app/93297a69-09fd-4ef5-889f-b83c4e21d33e/sheet/erUXRa/state/analysis
Research strategy
The Irish Government launched the five-year strategy on research and development, science and technology, entitled Innovation 2020. The Strategy’s vision is for Ireland to become a Global Innovation Leader with a sustainable, high employment economy and “a better society enjoying a good quality of life” [1]. The focus is on innovation as a focal point in driving productivity growth and encouraging competitiveness.
- ↑ Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Innovation 2020. 2015 Dec 8. [cited 2021 April 26]. Available from: https://enterprise.gov.ie/Djei/en/Publications/Innovation-2020.html
Research governance, compliance and integrity
Ireland has two national bodies for research ethics and research integrity – the National Forum on Research Integrity [1] and the National Office for Research Ethics Committees [2]. The National Forum on Research Integrity, established in June 2015, is coordinated by the Irish Universities Association (IUA) and the Technological Higher Education Association (THEA). One of its goals is to support the implementation of research integrity policies. To that end, it has released a National Policy Statement on Ensuring Research Integrity in Ireland, revised in 2019 to align with the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity [3]. It has also developed guidelines for HEIs on improving their research integrity processes and will publish a Framework for ensuring Research Integrity in Collaborative Agreements in 2021. The National Research Integrity Forum has a broad membership, including representation from all publicly funded higher education institutions, government research institutions, research funders and the state agencies responsible for quality and regulation of the higher education system [4]. While the Health Research Board (HRB), one of the members of the National Forum, was the first to develop policies and guidelines for the promotion of research integrity, all funding agency members now have these in place. In addition, the Higher Education Authority, who provide core funding and governance oversight for the higher education sector in Ireland issued its own principles of good research practice for the HE Sector in 2020 [5].
There are numerous research ethics committees in higher education institutions and hospitals/healthcare settings of which 12, based in hospitals, were recognised by the Department of Health for the purpose of providing ethics approval for regulated clinical trials [6]. However, with the advent of the National Research Ethics Committees, approval for multicentre regulated clinical trials, and trials involving medical devices will in future be provided centrally through the relevant National Research Ethics Committee [7]. The National Office for Research Ethics Committees is an important new addition to the research environment in Ireland. While they dealt exclusively with Covid-19 projects in 2020, in 2021 and beyond they will establish National Research Ethics Committees (NRECs) in prescribed areas of multi-site health research and absorb the currently recognised committees.
In addition, there are many research ethics committees in universities and other research institutions that provide approval for non-regulated healthcare interventions and experimentation involving human subjects and tissue, and animals. It is hoped that, in the case of multicentre research studies requiring this type of ethics approval, the development of future committees by the NREC will harmonise and centralise this activity to some extent.
When it comes to handling allegations of research misconduct, the National Forum has established guidelines for their members to make uniform their policies and practices. The Guidelines for the Investigation of Misconduct in Research do not oblige adoption of a single standardised procedure but provide principles and guidelines. According to these guidelines, allegations of misconduct should be sent to the Research Integrity Officer (RIO) anonymously and backed up by any available evidence. Then, the research institution where the researcher is employed or is a registered research student performs the investigation. The National Forum also collects and publishes data on misconduct investigations in member organisations on an annual basis [1].
The Protected Disclosures Act 2014 aims to protect people who raise concerns about possible wrongdoing in the workplace (including, but not limited to, research misconduct). The Act, which came into effect on 15 July 2014, is often called the whistleblower legislation. It provides for redress for employees who are dismissed or otherwise penalised for having reported possible wrongdoing in the workplace [8].
| Bodies for RE+RI | Scope |
| The National Forum on Research Integrity | Aims to support the implementation of research integrity policies, including training, and to ensure alignment with international and best practices for research integrity. |
| Working alongside local research ethics committees and supported by the National Office team, the NRECs will work in a mixed-model system to support research ethics across the spectrum of health research in Ireland. |
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 IUA Irish Universities Association. Research Integrity. [cited 2021 April 26]. Available from: https://www.iua.ie/for-researchers/research-integrity/
- ↑ National Office for Research Ethics Committees [cited 2021 April 26]. Available from: https://www.nrecoffice.ie
- ↑ National Research Integrity Forum (2019). Policy Statement on Ensuring Research Integrity in Ireland. [cited 2021 April 27]. Available from: https://www.iua.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/IUA_Research_Integrity_in_Ireland_Report_2019.pdf
- ↑ Eurec. National information: Ireland. [cited 2021 April 26]. Available from: http://www.eurecnet.org/information/ireland.html
- ↑ Higher Education Authority (2020) HEA Principles of Good Practice in Research within Irish Higher Education Institutions. [cited 2021 May 11]. Available from: https://hea.ie/assets/uploads/2017/04/HEA-Principles-of-Good-Practice-in-Research-in-Irish-HEIs-2020.pdf
- ↑ European Medicines Agency (2021) Clinical Trial Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 536/2014. [Cited 2021 May 11]. Available from: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/human-regulatory/research-development/clinical-trials/clinical-trial-regulation
- ↑ Nation Office for Research Ethics Committees. [cited 2021 May 11]. Available from: https://www.nrecoffice.ie/committees/
- ↑ Protected Disclosures Act 2014. [cited 2021 April 16]. Available from: http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2014/act/14/enacted/en/html
Laws and regulations
A number of laws regarding RE and RI are officially instated in Ireland.
| Law | Scope |
| Universities Act | Sets out the objects and functions of the University, the structure and role of the Governing Authority, staffing arrangements, composition and role of the Academic Council and settings related to property, finance and reporting. |
| Institutes of Technology Act | Sets out the objects and functions of Institutes of Technology, the structure and role of the governing bodies, staffing arrangements, composition and role of the Academic Council and settings related to property, finance and reporting. |
| Technological Universities Act | Allows for the merges of two or more Institutes of technology to create a new Technological University. |
| Freedom of Information Act | Gives each individual legal rights to access both personal and non-personal (corporate) records, to have personal records amended or deleted where the information is incorrect or misleading and the right to seek reasons for decisions that affect them. |
| Data Protection Act | Confers rights on individuals in relation to the privacy of their personal data as well as responsibilities on those persons holding and processing such data. |
| Clinical Trial Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 536/2014) | Regulates the clinical trials on medicinal products for human use. |
| Medicinal Products (Control of Manufacture) Regulations | Provides regulatory framework for medicinal products in Ireland. |
| Data Protection Act 2018 | Provides regulatory framework for processing or further processing personal data for the purposes of health research. |
| The Protected Disclosures Act 2014 | Aims to protect people who raise concerns about possible wrongdoing in the workplace. This Act is also known as the whistleblower legislation. |
Measures to promote good scientific practices and open science
RI training
The National Forum has prepared several position papers and guideline documents to assist research institutions:
- Research Integrity Officer Role and Reporting Structure
- Interface between Research Integrity and Research Ethics
- Guidelines for the Investigation of Misconduct in Research
Since January 2018, online research integrity training (commercial product) is available to researchers at every publicly funded higher education institution and government research institution in Ireland. The National Forum on Research Integrity has put this training in place [1], initially for a three-year pilot which provided access to research integrity training for up to 15,000 researchers. The Forum has recently made arrangements to continue access to the training for a further three years (2021-2023), but now without limits on the number of researchers who can complete the training. The training has been fully updated to take into account the Irish context, and individual institutions can add details of their own policies and procedures if required.
RI dialogue and communication
Research integrity is discussed in the lay press. The print media has given coverage to research integrity in the past number of years, both the positive and the negative [2][3][4]. In 2020, Science Foundation Ireland made a report “Science in Ireland Barometer”, an analysis of the Irish public’s perceptions and awareness of STEM in society. According to the report, majority of the Irish public showed high level of trust in “science” (89%) and “scientists” (81%). The public had the strongest level of trust in “medical health professionals” (87%) and “scientists” (84%) compared to other Irish professionals [5].
RI incentives
There are some programmes where researchers are encouraged to link their research with industry [6][7][8][9]. Some organisations in Ireland provide awards for researchers.
| Initiatives | Scope |
| The National Forum for Research Integrity Training | Training |
| Quality and Qualifications Ireland | Accreditation |
| Irish Research Council Researcher of the Year Awards | Support |
| Science Foundation Ireland Awards | Support |
- ↑ IUA Irish Universities Association. Research Integrity. [cited 2021 April 26]. Available from: https://www.iua.ie/for-researchers/research-integrity/
- ↑ O'Connell C. Promoting integrity in science research. The Irish Times. 2009 Sep 18. [cited 2021 April 16]. Available from: https://www.irishtimes.com/business/promoting-integrity-in-science-research-1.740363
- ↑ Network for Irish Educational Standards. Irish Science Ethics: Poachers and Gamekeepers. 2014 June 19. [cited 2021 April 26]. Available from: https://educationalstandards.wordpress.com/2014/06/19/irish-science-ethics-poachers-and-gamekeepers/
- ↑ Geoghegan P. Irish-funded scientist under investigation over his research. The Irish Times. 2016 Aug 29. [cited 2021 April 16]. Available from: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/irish-funded-scientist-under-investigation-over-his-research-1.2771359
- ↑ Science Foundation Ireland. SFI Science in Ireland Barometer 2020. Research Report. [cited 2021 April 26]. Available from: https://www.sfi.ie/research-news/publications/SFI-Science-in-Ireland-Barometer-2020-Research-Report.pdf
- ↑ Science Foundation Ireland. Schemes for Industry. [cited 2021 May 15]. Available from https://www.sfi.ie/funding/industry-collaboration/
- ↑ Enterprise Ireland. Research and Innovation Funding. [cited 2021 May 15]. Available from https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/Research-Innovation/
- ↑ Irish Research Council. Enterprise Partnership Scheme (Postgraduate). [cited 2021 April 26]. Available from: http://research.ie/funding/eps-postgrad/
- ↑ Enterprise Ireland. Funding Supports. [cited 2021 April 26]. Available from: https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/funding-supports/company/esetablish-sme-funding/innovation-partnerships.html
Guidelines
Ireland
A total of 14 guidelines were found. Add a Guideline.
- The Dublin City University's Code of Good Research Practice (September 2022)
- Irish National Principles for Open Access Policy Statement (September 2022)
- Dublin City University's Policy for Responding to Allegations of Research Misconduct (September 2022)
- Framework to Enhance Research Integrity in Research Collaborations (March 2022)
- The Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland's Guidelines on Good Research Practice (March 2022)
Ana Marusic, Andrijana Perković Paloš, Elsa Amin contributed to this report. Latest contribution was Oct 24, 2021
