Ireland’s new research funding strategy risks damaging “truly innovative and ground-breaking” discovery research while support for arts, humanities and social science studies may also be significantly cut, researchers have warned.
In an open letter signed by more than 2,000 researchers, academics have expressed their “deep concern” about Research Ireland’s recently published 2026-30 strategy which will guide how €4.55 billion (£4 billion) is distributed over the next five years, including plans to fund 3,000 PhDs and 2,000 postdoctoral researchers.
“The new strategy is structurally, rhetorically and materially focused on commercially translatable research and economic impact rather than supporting bedrock, fundamental, discovery research and research for the public good,” states the letter which attracted more than 1,000 signatures in its first day after going live on 27 May.
Criticising the strategy’s “disproportionate focus on industry interests”, it argues this emphasis “marginalises the arts, humanities and social sciences” and, more broadly, “minimises research for social good and research that is truly innovative and ground-breaking”.
Launched in early March, the Research Ireland strategy has emphasised a need to ensure curiosity-driven excellence is translated into outcomes that strengthen economic growth or deliver tangible societal benefit.
