The Microbiology Society calls for the government of Ireland to set out an ambitious research and innovation strategy

28 April 2022

The Microbiology Society has published an open letter titled ‘Science For Ireland: Time for an Ambitious Research and Innovation Strategy’ addressed to the Irish government prior to the release of their new research and development strategy. This is a follow-up to our 2020 position statement ‘Science For Ireland: Propelling Research and Innovation Success’, where we set out recommendations based on views gathered from our members in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

While a lot has changed since our position statement, we believe that there is still room for improvement. Research and development intensity has significantly fallen as the Irish economy has grown. ‘Innovation 2020’, the previous research and development strategy, committed to increasing public and private investment to reach Ireland’s intensity target of 2.5% of GNP by 2020. This strategy was unsuccessful, and intensity is still low by international standards. Existing policies concentrate the majority of funding in areas of research deemed likely to yield greatest economic or commercial impact, and neglect to adequately fund basic, curiosity-driven research that is essential for advancing scientific understanding. This has led to a research base lacking in depth, breadth and adaptability, and threatens Ireland’s ability to retain home-grown, or attract international talent.

To address these concerns, the Microbiology Society calls on the government of Ireland to:

• Increase investment in research and innovation, and allocate funding more evenly along the innovation pipeline from basic through to applied research
• Offer competitive career opportunities to ensure home-grown talent is retained, and international scientists establish themselves in Ireland
• Maintain cross-border collaboration and an open dialogue with scientific experts to ensure Ireland can respond to current and future societal challenges

Investment in research and development a generation ago are paying dividends now, demonstrated by Ireland’s comprehensive, timely and transparent response to the pandemic. It is vital that Ireland commits to increasing research and development intensity to ensure the country is able to respond to future crises at a similar scale in the future.

The issues and recommendations highlighted in this statement go beyond the remit of microbiology. We are therefore calling for support from stakeholders and organisations affected by these issues to reinforce our message and strengthen our impact. If you would like to join the discussion or demonstrate support by co-signing this letter, please email [email protected]

You can view a list of co-signatories and download the full open letter here.