RESEARCH AND INNOVATION ACT 2024

• (4) If changes are agreed to an award of funding under this section, the award of funding shall thereafter have effect accordingly.

40. Compliance with conditions of funding for research and innovation

40. (1) A recipient of funding shall provide such reports on the research and innovation undertaken for which funding is awarded at such times and in such manner as may be required by the Agency and specified in the funding scheme concerned.

• (2) A recipient of funding shall provide to the Chief Executive Officer such information as that Officer may request in relation to an award of funding, including information in relation to—

• (a) the expenditure of the award of funding disbursed to the recipient of funding by the Agency under section 38, and

• (b) compliance by the recipient of funding with the conditions of funding,

in such form and manner, and at such times, as the Chief Executive Officer may request.

• (3) If a recipient of funding does not provide to the Chief Executive Officer the information requested under subsection (2), the Chief Executive Officer shall require the recipient of funding, by notice in writing, to provide to him or her such information as is specified in the notice and within such period as is specified therein, and the recipient of funding shall comply with any such requirement.

• (4) If the Chief Executive Officer is of opinion, following an assessment of the information (if any) provided by a recipient of funding under this section, that there are serious deficiencies regarding compliance by the recipient of funding concerned with the conditions of funding, the Chief Executive Officer shall arrange for an investigation of the matter to be undertaken.

• (5) The Chief Executive Officer shall arrange for assessors or members of the staff of the Agency (who have not previously been concerned with the award of funding to the recipient of funding concerned), as may be appropriate, to investigate whether the recipient of funding is in compliance with the conditions of funding, having examined the information (if any) provided by the recipient of funding under this section.

41. Information from other bodies relating to awards of funding

41. Where, following—

• (a) an assessment of information (if any) provided by a recipient of funding under section 40, and

• (b) if appropriate, an investigation of the matter under that section,

the Chief Executive Officer remains of opinion that there are serious deficiencies regarding compliance by the recipient of funding with the conditions of funding, he or she may request, use and rely on information as respects the recipient of funding from such bodies as he or she considers appropriate, including but not limited to An tÚdarás and the Qualifications and Quality Assurance Authority of Ireland, for the purpose of assisting him or her to determine whether that recipient of funding is in compliance with those conditions.

42. Review of compliance with conditions of funding for research and innovation

42. (1) The Chief Executive Officer may, with the approval of the Board, appoint a suitably qualified person who, or an appropriate body which, is independent of the Agency (in this section referred to as a “reviewer”) to carry out a review in accordance with this section of compliance by a recipient of funding with the conditions of funding of the award of funding concerned.

• (2) The Chief Executive Officer shall inform the recipient of funding concerned by notice in writing of the appointment of a reviewer under subsection (1).

• (3) The recipient of funding concerned shall comply with a request from a reviewer to provide the reviewer with such information and assistance as the reviewer may reasonably require for the purposes of the review.

• (4) As soon as practicable after the review, a reviewer shall prepare a draft of the report setting out the findings of the review (in this section referred to as the “draft report”).

• (5) A reviewer shall furnish the draft report to the Agency and to the recipient of funding and shall give notice in writing to the Agency and the recipient of funding that they may make representations to the reviewer concerning the draft report not later than 48 days after it is furnished to them.

• (6) As soon as practicable after the expiration of the period of 48 days referred to in subsection (5) and having considered any representations made pursuant to that subsection, the reviewer may amend the draft report and shall furnish the final report on the review (in this section referred to as the “final report”) to the Agency and to the recipient of funding concerned.

• (7) The Chief Executive Officer shall consider the final report and, following that consideration, he or she may make a determination under section 43(1).

• (8) A recipient of funding may request the Chief Executive Officer to appoint a reviewer under this section and, if the request is acceded to, subsections (1) to (7) shall, with any necessary modifications, apply to the review.

43. Non-compliance with conditions of funding for research and innovation

43. (1) Where the Chief Executive Officer is of opinion that a recipient of funding is not complying with the conditions of funding (whether or not the Chief Executive Officer has received information under section 41 or a review has been undertaken under section 42 as respects the recipient of funding), he or she may make a determination under this subsection to do all or any of the following with regard to funding awarded to the recipient of funding:

• (a) amend (including by addition) the conditions of funding;

• (b) subject to subsection (6), suspend the disbursement of further funding to the recipient of funding unless and until the Chief Executive Officer is satisfied that the conditions of funding are being complied with by the recipient of funding;

• (c) subject to subsection (6), cancel the award of funding insofar as it relates to the disbursement of further funding to the recipient of funding with effect from a specified date;

• (d) require the recipient of funding to repay to the Agency some or all of the funding awarded and disbursed to the recipient of funding.

• (2) Where the Chief Executive Officer proposes to make a determination under any paragraph of subsection (1), he or she shall, by notice in writing to the recipient of funding concerned, inform that recipient of funding that he or she proposes to make the determination and shall state the reasons therefor in the notice.

• (3) A notice under subsection (2) shall state that the recipient of funding concerned may make representations to the Chief Executive Officer in relation to the reasons specified therein for the making of the determination not later than 14 days after the service of the notice on the recipient of funding.

• (4) The Chief Executive Officer shall consider the representations (if any) made to him or her in accordance with subsection (3) and if he or she decides for the reasons stated in the notice under subsection (2) or otherwise to make the determination concerned with regard to the funding awarded to the recipient of funding concerned, he or she may proceed to make that determination.

• (5) If the determination of the Chief Executive Officer is an amendment (including by addition) of the conditions of funding under subsection (1)(a), the award of funding as so amended shall become effective from the date specified for that purpose by the Chief Executive Officer by notice in writing to the recipient of funding concerned.

• (6) The date specified for the suspension of the disbursement of funding under subsection (1)(b), or the cancellation of an award of funding under subsection (1)(c), shall have regard to any right for notice of the termination of funding to be given, or a payment to be made, to any person who is employed or otherwise engaged in undertaking the research and innovation to which the award of funding relates.

• (7) The Chief Executive Officer shall, by notice in writing, inform the recipient of funding concerned of a determination under paragraph (b) or (c), as may be appropriate, of subsection (1) and the notice shall specify the date from which the disbursement of further funding shall be suspended or cancelled, as the case may be.

• (8) The Chief Executive Officer shall, by notice in writing, inform the recipient of funding concerned of a determination under subsection (1)(d) and the notice shall specify the amount of funding to be repaid (which shall not exceed the amount disbursed pursuant to the award of funding concerned) and the date by which such repayment shall be made (which date shall not be a date earlier than the end of the prescribed period within which an appeal may be brought under subsection (11)).

• (9) Where a determination is made by the Chief Executive Officer under subsection (1)(d), the recipient of funding concerned is liable to repay to the Agency on demand the sum so determined.

• (10) All sums due to the Agency under subsection (9) shall be recoverable as debts due to the Agency and, without prejudice to any other remedy, may be recovered by the Agency as a debt under statute or a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

• (11) Where a determination is made by the Chief Executive Officer under subsection (1)(d), the recipient of funding concerned may appeal against that determination within the prescribed period after the service of the notice on that recipient of funding under subsection (8).

• (12) The bringing of an appeal under subsection (11) by a recipient of funding against a determination of the Chief Executive Officer under subsection (1)(d) shall not have the effect of staying the operation of the determination until the appeal is determined or discontinued.

• (13) If a recipient of funding in respect of which a determination under paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) of subsection (1) is made by the Chief Executive Officer is—

• (a) a designated institution of higher education, or

• (b) a higher education provider or other body which is a funded body within the meaning of the Act of 2022,

the Chief Executive Officer shall inform An tÚdarás of his or her determination relating to that institution, provider or body, as the case may be, as respects the award of funding for research and innovation concerned and shall provide particulars thereof to An tÚdarás.

• (14) In a case to which subsection (13) applies, the Chief Executive Officer shall inform An tÚdarás if the recipient of funding concerned appeals against the determination of the Chief Executive Officer under subsection (1)(d) and shall provide particulars of that appeal and its determination or discontinuance, as the case may be, to An tÚdarás.

44. Appeals board

44. (1) The Minister shall, within 28 days or such other period as may be prescribed after the receipt of a notice of appeal under section 43(11), establish an appeals board (in this Act referred to as an “appeals board”) comprised of 3 members, one of whom shall be its chairperson along with 2 ordinary members, for the purposes of determining the appeal.

• (2) Subject to subsection (9), the Minister shall appoint—

• (a) two persons having a special interest in or expertise in, or knowledge of, matters relating to research and innovation or the functions of Taighde Éireann (other than members of the Board or members of the staff of Taighde Éireann or officers of the Minister), and

• (b) one person who is a practising solicitor, or a practising barrister, having not less than 10 years’ experience as such (other than a solicitor or barrister in the full time service of the State),

as the members of an appeals board.

• (3) The Minister shall appoint a chairperson of an appeals board from among the members of the appeals board.

• (4) A member of an appeals board is entitled to be paid such fees and allowances for expenses as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, determines.

• (5) The Minister shall furnish such support of an administrative nature to an appeals board as the Minister in his or her opinion determines necessary to enable the board to perform its functions.

• (6) A member of an appeals board may at any time resign as such a member by giving notice in writing to the Minister of his or her resignation.

• (7) A resignation under subsection (6) shall take effect on the day on which the Minister receives the notice.

• (8) The Minister may at any time remove a member of an appeals board if, in the opinion of the Minister—

• (a) the member has become incapable through ill-health of effectively performing his or her functions,

• (b) the member has committed stated misbehaviour, or

• (c) the removal of the member appears to the Minister to be necessary for the effective performance by the appeals board of its functions.

• (9) A person shall not be appointed to be a member of an appeals board, and he or she shall cease to be a member of an appeals board, if he or she—

• (a) is adjudicated bankrupt and such bankruptcy has not been annulled or discharged,

• (b) makes a composition or arrangement with creditors,

• (c) is sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to a term of imprisonment,

• (d) is convicted of any indictable offence in relation to a company,

• (e) is convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty, or

• (f) is, or is deemed to be, the subject of an order under section 160 of the Companies Act 1990 or a disqualification order within the meaning of Chapter 4 of Part 14 of the Companies Act 2014.

45. Determination of appeal by appeals board

45. (1) An appeal—

• (a) shall be lodged with the Minister within the time, and in accordance with the procedures, prescribed under section 46, and

• (b) shall state the grounds for the appeal.

• (2) Subject to this Act and any regulations under section 46, the chairperson of an appeals board shall regulate the procedures of the board.

• (3) An appeals board may refuse to determine an appeal where, in the opinion of the appeals board, the appeal lodged is not made in good faith or is frivolous or vexatious.

• (4) An appeals board may require any person to provide information which it may reasonably require for the purposes of conducting and determining an appeal.

• (5) A decision by a majority of the members of an appeals board shall suffice for any purpose.

• (6) In determining an appeal, an appeals board may—

• (a) affirm the determination of the Chief Executive Officer, or

• (b) where it is satisfied that a serious or significant error or a series of errors was made in making the determination the subject of the appeal or that the determination was made without complying with fair procedures, quash the determination and remit it, for stated reasons, to the Chief Executive Officer.

• (7) An appeals board shall communicate its determination under subsection (6), including in the case of a determination under paragraph (b) of that subsection, the reasons therefor, to the recipient of funding who brought the appeal concerned and the Chief Executive Officer as soon as practicable after it is made.

• (8) In the case of a determination under subsection (6)(b), the Chief Executive Officer shall reconsider his or her determination.

• (9) An appeals board shall be independent in the performance of its functions.

46. Appeal procedures

46. (1) As soon as practicable after the establishment day and following consultation with Taighde Éireann, the Minister shall prescribe procedures for the conduct and determination of appeals under section 43(11).

• (2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), regulations under this section may provide for all or any of the following:

• (a) the form and manner to be used for bringing an appeal under section 43(11);

• (b) the time within which an appeal shall be brought after the date of the determination of the Chief Executive Officer that is being appealed;

• (c) the fees (if any) to accompany a notice of appeal and the circumstances in which such fees may be refunded, in whole or in part;

• (d) the period within which the Minister shall establish an appeals board after the receipt of a notice of appeal;

• (e) the information and documents which shall be provided to the appeals board and the manner in which they shall be so provided;

• (f) the procedures to be followed regarding the making of submissions to an appeals board and their form;

• (g) the time within which an appeal shall be determined.

47. Funding for research and innovation outside the State

47. (1) The Agency may award and disburse funding to an institution in Northern Ireland—

• (a) under a scheme for the funding of research administered by the dissolved body on behalf of the Minister prior to the coming into operation of this section, or

• (b) subject to subsection (2), under a funding scheme.

• (2) The Agency may disburse an award of funding (or a part thereof)—

• (a) to an institution in Northern Ireland through an institution in the State to which the award of funding was made where the institution in Northern Ireland is a partner of the institution in the State or of a company carrying on business in the State for the purposes of carrying out a research and innovation project, or

• (b) directly to the institution in Northern Ireland where the Agency is satisfied that an institution in the State or a company carrying on business in the State is a partner of the institution in Northern Ireland for the purposes of carrying out a research and innovation project.

48. International co-operation regarding funding for research and innovation

48. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Agency may, subject to the consent of the Minister—

• (a) participate in, and contribute to the funding of, international collaborative projects for the undertaking of research and innovation by way of an award of funding to a person or body in the State under a funding scheme, and

• (b) enter into an agreement with any person or body having a function relating to research and innovation outside the State for the purposes of paragraph (a).

• (2) The power of the Agency under subsection (1) is subject to the following:

• (a) the conditions of an award of funding shall be enforceable in a court of competent jurisdiction in the State;

• (b) the award of funding shall be subject to the assessment of the standard and quality of the proposed research and innovation and an assessment and evaluation of the outcomes and, where appropriate, the impact of the research and innovation;

• (c) the award of funding shall be subject to such conditions relating to reporting, financial and governance matters as the Agency considers appropriate;

• (d) the disbursement of funding pursuant to an award of funding shall be on a phased basis upon the Agency being satisfied as to the outcomes and, where appropriate, the impact of the research and innovation undertaken at each phase specified by the Agency;

• (e) the conditions of the award of funding shall provide that the Agency may, in certain specified circumstances, require that some or all of the funding disbursed be repaid to the Agency in the event of non-compliance with the conditions of the award if the Agency considers that such repayment is necessary and appropriate in such circumstances.

49. Funding partnerships

49. The Agency may enter into an agreement or arrangement with a body (whether public or private) in the State or elsewhere for the purpose of that body providing funding (whether whole or partial) for research and innovation under a funding scheme to be administered by the Agency.

50. Arrangements with Ministers of Government concerning research and innovation

50. (1) The Agency may, at the request of a Minister of the Government and subject to the consent of the Minister, enter into an agreement or arrangement for the administration of a research and innovation scheme and the award or disbursement or both of funding under that scheme on behalf of that Minister of the Government connected to an area of responsibility arising from the functions of that Minister of the Government.

• (2) An agreement or arrangement under subsection (1) shall provide for the following:

• (a) the source and level of funding for the research and innovation scheme to be administered by the Agency;

• (b) the timing for the disbursement of that funding;

• (c) the purpose and areas or topics of research and innovation to which the agreement or arrangement is to apply;

• (d) the system for reporting to the Minister of the Government concerned regarding the research and innovation scheme concerned and the disbursement of the funding thereunder;

• (e) the arrangements for monitoring the standard and quality of the research and innovation undertaken pursuant to the research and innovation scheme concerned;

• (f) the arrangements for the assessment and evaluation of the outcomes and, where appropriate, the impact of the research and innovation undertaken for which funding is awarded under the scheme.

51. Administrative co-operation with other bodies

51. (1) The Agency shall, in so far as it is consistent with the proper performance of its functions, endeavour to secure administrative co-operation between the Agency and other bodies to which this section applies and, for that purpose, may enter into one or more than one agreement or arrangement (whether in the form of a memorandum of understanding or otherwise) from time to time with one or more of those bodies for the purposes of—

• (a) facilitating administrative co-operation between the Agency and those bodies in the performance of their respective functions in so far as they relate to the promotion and undertaking of research and innovation,

• (b) ensuring, as far as practicable, consistency between decisions made or measures taken by the Agency and those bodies in so far as any part of those decisions or measures consists of, or relates to, the promotion and undertaking of research and innovation, or

• (c) avoiding duplication of activities by the Agency and a body to which this section applies.

• (2) The parties to an agreement or arrangement under this section may vary the terms of the agreement or arrangement.

• (3) An agreement or arrangement under this section, or any variation of such an agreement or arrangement, shall be in writing.

• (4) An agreement or arrangement under this section shall not operate to bind the Agency or a body to which this section applies.

• (5) The Agency shall provide the Minister and any relevant Minister in relation to a body to which this section applies with a copy of each agreement or arrangement under this section and any variation thereof.

• (6)
• (a) An agreement or arrangement under this section shall not operate to require the Agency to provide information to any other body to which this section applies if the disclosure of that information by the Agency is not permitted by this Act or is prohibited by law.

• (b) An agreement or arrangement under this section shall not operate to require a body to which this section applies to provide information to the Agency if the disclosure of that information by that body is not permitted by this Act or is prohibited by law.

• (7) In this section—

• (a) “relevant Minister”, in relation to a body to which this section applies, means any Minister of the Government who performs functions in relation to the body;

• (b) a reference to a body to which this section applies means—

• (i) An tSeirbhís Oideachais, Leanúnaigh agus Scileanna,

• (ii) An tÚdarás,

• (iii) Enterprise Ireland,

• (iv) the Environmental Protection Agency,

• (v) the Health Research Board,

• (vi) the Industrial Development Agency (Ireland),

• (vii) the Marine Institute,

• (viii) the Qualifications and Quality Assurance Authority of Ireland,

• (ix) the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland,

• (x) Teagasc, or

• (xi) a body established by or under an enactment in which functions are vested by statute or otherwise relating to purposes connected with the promotion and undertaking of research and innovation and that is prescribed by order of the Minister for the purposes of this section.

• (8) The Minister may, by order, prescribe a body referred to in subsection (7)(b)(xi) for the purposes of this section.

PART 4 Data Protection

52. Supply of personal data

52. (1) Subject to the Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018, a recipient of funding shall, if so requested by the Agency, furnish to it such personal data in the format requested with regard to—

• (a) a member of its staff, including the gender, particulars regarding salary, disability and ethnicity of the member of the staff, and

• (b) such other personal data as may be prescribed in consultation with the Agency,

which are necessary and proportionate for the Agency to perform its functions under paragraphs (b), (c), (d), (e), (g), (l), (n) and (o) of section 9(1).

• (2) The personal data requested by the Agency from a recipient of funding may include special categories of personal data (within the meaning of the Data Protection Act 2018), subject to suitable and specific measures taken by the Agency to protect the data as part of any processing of those data, which may include—

• (a) limitations on access to the data undergoing processing within the Agency in order to prevent unauthorised consultation, alteration, disclosure or erasure of the data,

• (b) strict time limits for the erasure of the data and mechanisms to ensure that such time limits are observed,

• (c) specific targeted training for those involved in processing operations, and

• (d) where possible, the aggregation of the data.

• (3) If a recipient of funding fails or refuses to provide data when requested to do so under subsection (1) or (2), the Agency may, by notice in writing, direct the recipient of funding to provide the data within a period specified in the notice.

• (4) A recipient of funding to which the direction under subsection (3) is given shall comply with the direction within the period specified in the notice under that subsection.

• (5) The Agency may, by notice in writing, amend or revoke a direction under this section.

• (6) Subject to the Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018, the Agency may publish the data obtained by it under this section in such form and manner as it considers appropriate.

• (7) Notwithstanding subsection (6), special category data (within the meaning of the Data Protection Act 2018) may only be made publicly available in aggregated form to ensure that no person to whom the data relate is identifiable.

53. Furnishing of personal data

53. (1) Subject to the Data Protection Regulation, the Data Protection Act 2018, the Data Sharing and Governance Act 2019 and subsection (3), the Agency may furnish to recipients of funding, a Minister of the Government, the Revenue Commissioners, the Qualifications and Quality Assurance Authority of Ireland, An tSeirbhís Oideachais, Leanúnaigh agus Scileanna, An tÚdarás and such other body (whether statutory or otherwise) which is funded wholly or partly by public moneys as the Agency considers appropriate, personal data as is necessary and proportionate which come to its attention in the course of performing its functions, and which relate to one or more of the functions of that body.

• (2) Subject to the Data Protection Regulation, the Data Protection Act 2018, the Data Sharing and Governance Act 2019 and subsection (3), bodies referred to in subsection (1) may furnish personal data which come to their attention in the course of performing their functions to the Agency.

• (3) The personal data that may be furnished under subsections (1) and (2) shall be for the purpose of performing the functions of the Agency under paragraphs (b), (c), (d), (e), (g), (l), (n) and (o) of section 9(1).

PART 5 Transitional, Consequential and Miscellaneous Provisions

54. Dissolution of Science Foundation Ireland

54. (1) On the establishment day, Science Foundation Ireland (in this Act referred to as the “dissolved body”) shall stand dissolved.

• (2) Section 30 shall apply to the person who immediately before the establishment day was the Director General of the dissolved body subject to the modifications that—

• (a) references in that section to the Chief Executive Officer shall be construed as references to that person, and

• (b) references in that section to the Agency shall be construed as references to the dissolved body.

55. Transfer of members of staff of dissolved body

55. (1) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), each person who, immediately before the establishment day, is a member of staff of the dissolved body is, on that day, transferred to and becomes a member of staff of the Agency.

• (b) Each person who, immediately before the establishment day, is a fixed-term employee of the dissolved body shall, on that day, become and be a fixed-term employee of the Agency for the duration of his or her contract.

• (2) The terms and conditions to which a person is subject upon his or her becoming a member of the staff or a fixed-term employee, as the case may be, of the Agency in accordance with subsection (1) shall be deemed to have been determined by the Agency in accordance with subsections (2) and (3) of section 32.

• (3) Save in accordance with any enactment or a collective agreement negotiated with any recognised trades union or staff association, a person transferred to the Agency under subsection (1) shall not, on the establishment day, be subject to less beneficial terms and conditions of service (including those relating to tenure of office or remuneration) than the terms and conditions of service (including those relating to tenure of office or remuneration) to which he or she was subject immediately before that day.

• (4) In relation to persons transferred to the Agency under subsection (1), previous service with the dissolved body shall be reckonable for the purposes of, but subject to any exceptions or exclusions in, the following:

• (a) the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2022;

• (b) the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001;

• (c) the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997;

• (d) the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973 to 2005;

• (e) the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2015;

• (f) the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003;

• (g) the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994 to 2014;

• (h) the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 to 2022;

• (i) the Adoptive Leave Acts 1995 and 2005, together with the amendments of the Adoptive Leave Act 1995 in Part 2 of the Family Leave and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2021;

• (j) the Parental Leave Acts 1998 to 2023;

• (k) the Carer’s Leave Act 2001;

• (l) the Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016;

• (m) the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019.

56. Transfer of land and other property

56. (1) On the establishment day, all lands that, immediately before that day, were vested in the dissolved body and all rights, powers and privileges relating to or connected with such lands shall, without any conveyance or assignment, stand vested in the Agency for all the estate or interest therein that, immediately before the establishment day, was vested in the dissolved body, but subject to all trusts and equities affecting the lands continuing to subsist and being capable of being performed.

• (2) On the establishment day all property (other than land), including choses-in-action, that immediately before that day was vested in the dissolved body shall stand vested in the Agency without any assignment.

• (3) Every chose-in-action vested in the Agency by virtue of subsection (2) may, on and from the establishment day, be sued on, recovered or enforced by the Agency in its own name, and it shall not be necessary for the Agency, or the dissolved body, to give notice to any person bound by the chose-in-action of the vesting effected by that subsection.

57. Transfer of rights and liabilities, etc., of dissolved body

57. (1) All rights and liabilities of the dissolved body subsisting immediately before the establishment day and arising by virtue of any contract or commitment (expressed or implied) shall on that day stand transferred to the Agency.

• (2) Every right and liability transferred by subsection (1) to the Agency may, on and after the establishment day, be sued on, recovered or enforced by or against the Agency in its own name, and it shall not be necessary for the Agency, or the dissolved body, to give notice to the person whose right or liability is transferred by that subsection of such transfer.

• (3) Every lease, licence, wayleave or permission granted by the dissolved body in relation to land or other property vested in the Agency by or under this Act, and in force immediately before the establishment day, shall continue in force as if granted by the Agency.

58. Preservation of contracts made by dissolved body

58. Every contract, agreement or arrangement made between the dissolved body or any trustee or agent thereof acting on its behalf, and any other person, which is in force immediately before the establishment day, shall continue in force and shall be construed and have effect as if the name of the Agency were substituted therein for the name of the dissolved body or, as may be appropriate, that of its trustee or agent, and shall be enforceable by or against the Agency.

59. Records of dissolved body

59. Each record held by the dissolved body immediately before the establishment day shall, on that day, stand transferred to the Agency and shall, on and after that day, be the property of the Agency and be regarded as being held by the Agency.

60. Liability for loss occurring before establishment day

60. (1) A claim in respect of any loss or injury alleged to have been suffered by any person arising out of the performance, before the establishment day, of any of the functions of the dissolved body shall, on and after that day, lie against the Agency and not against the dissolved body.

• (2) Any legal proceedings pending immediately before the establishment day to which the dissolved body is a party, shall be continued, with the substitution in the proceedings of the Agency, in so far as they so relate, for the dissolved body.

• (3) Where, before the establishment day, agreement has been reached between the parties concerned in settlement of a claim to which subsection (1) relates, the terms of which have not been implemented, or judgment in such a claim has been given in favour of a person but has not been enforced, the terms of the agreement or judgment, as the case may be, shall, in so far as they are enforceable against the dissolved body, be enforceable against the Agency and not the dissolved body.

• (4) Any claim made or proper to be made by the dissolved body in respect of any loss or injury arising from the act or default of any person before the establishment day shall be regarded as having been made by, or proper to be made by, the Agency and may be pursued and sued for by the Agency as if the loss or injury had been suffered by the Agency.

61. References in enactments or instruments made thereunder to dissolved body

61. References (however expressed) to the dissolved body in any enactment or instrument made under an enactment shall, after the establishment day, be construed as references to the Agency save where other provision is made as respects the construction of the first mentioned references by any enactment passed before the passing of this Act.

62. Final accounts and final annual report of dissolved body

62. (1) The Agency shall, in respect of the period specified under subsection (3), prepare final accounts of the dissolved body.

• (2) The Agency shall, not later than the date on which it submits its first set of accounts following the establishment day to the Comptroller and Auditor General under section 25, submit the final accounts of the dissolved body to the Comptroller and Auditor General for audit and shall, immediately after the audit, present a copy of the accounts and a copy of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report on the accounts to the Minister who, as soon as practicable thereafter, shall cause copies of those accounts and that report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

• (3) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Minister may specify a period that is longer or shorter than a financial year of the dissolved body.

• (4) The Agency shall, not later than the date on which it submits its first annual report following the establishment day to the Minister, prepare and submit to the Minister the final report of the activities of the dissolved body and the Minister shall, as soon as practicable thereafter, cause a copy of the final report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

• (5) The final annual report of the dissolved body shall be published by the Agency in such manner as it considers appropriate as soon as practicable after copies of the report are laid under subsection (4).

63. Transitional provision consequent upon dissolution of dissolved body

63. Anything commenced by or under the authority of the dissolved body and not completed before the establishment day may be carried on or completed, on or after that day, by the Agency.

64. Transfer of certain members of staff of An tÚdarás

64. (1) The Minister may designate in writing such and so many of the members of the staff of An tÚdarás as he or she decides to be transferred to the Agency from such date as may be specified in the designation (in this section referred to as “the effective date”).

• (2) A member of the staff of An tÚdarás designated in accordance with subsection (1) shall become and be a member of the staff of the Agency from the effective date.

• (3) Save in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with any recognised trades union or staff association, a person transferred pursuant to a designation under subsection (1) to the staff of the Agency shall be subject to such terms and conditions of service, including terms and conditions relating to tenure of office or remuneration, as are not less favourable than the terms and conditions of service (including those relating to tenure of office or remuneration) to which the person was subject immediately before the effective date.

• (4) In relation to persons transferred to the Agency in accordance with subsection (1), previous service with An tÚdarás shall be reckonable for the purposes of, but subject to any exceptions or exclusions in, the following:

• (a) the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2022;

• (b) the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001;

• (c) the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997;

• (d) the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973 to 2005;

• (e) the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2015;

• (f) the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003;

• (g) the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994 to 2014;

• (h) the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 to 2022;

• (i) the Adoptive Leave Acts 1995 and 2005, together with the amendments of the Adoptive Leave Act 1995 in Part 2 of the Family Leave and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2021;

• (j) the Parental Leave Acts 1998 to 2023;

• (k) the Carer’s Leave Act 2001;

• (l) the Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016;

• (m) the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019.

65. Transfer of certain rights and liabilities, etc., of An tÚdarás

65. (1) All rights and liabilities of An tÚdarás that are subsisting immediately before the establishment day relating to the activities as respects research and innovation carried out by the Irish Research Council and arising by virtue of any contract or commitment (expressed or implied) shall on that day stand transferred to the Agency.

• (2) Every right and liability transferred by subsection (1) to the Agency may, on and after the establishment day, be sued on, recovered or enforced by or against the Agency in its own name, and it shall not be necessary for the Agency, or An tÚdarás, to give notice to the person whose right or liability is transferred by that subsection of such transfer.

• (3) Every lease, licence, wayleave or permission granted by An tÚdarás in relation to land or other property vested in the Agency by or under this Act, and in force immediately before the establishment day, shall continue in force as if granted by the Agency.

66. Preservation of certain contracts relating to research and innovation made by An tÚdarás

66. Every contract, agreement or arrangement made between An tÚdarás or any trustee or agent thereof acting on its behalf, relating to the activities as respects research and innovation carried out by the Irish Research Council and any other person, which is in force immediately before the establishment day, shall continue in force and shall be construed and have effect as if the name of the Agency were substituted therein for the name of An tÚdarás or, as may be appropriate, that of its trustee or agent, and shall be enforceable by or against the Agency.

67. Transfer of certain records of An tÚdarás relating to research and innovation

67. Each record held by An tÚdarás immediately before the establishment day relating to the activities as respects research and innovation carried out by the Irish Research Council shall, on that day, stand transferred to the Agency and shall, on and after that day, be the property of the Agency and be regarded as being held by the Agency.

68. Transitional provision consequent upon An tÚdarás ceasing to perform certain functions relating to research and innovation

68. Anything commenced by or under the authority of An tÚdarás relating to the activities as respects research and innovation carried out by the Irish Research Council and not completed before the establishment day may be carried on or completed, on or after that day, by the Agency.

69. Amendment of Higher Education Authority Act 2022

69. The Act of 2022 is amended—

• (a) in section 9(1)—

• (i) in paragraph (e), by the insertion of “in co-operation with Taighde Éireann,” before “plan for research in the higher education system”,

• (ii) in paragraph (h), by the substitution of “Taighde Éireann” for “Science Foundation Ireland”, and

• (iii) in paragraph (i), by the substitution of “Taighde Éireann and other Government agencies” for “Government agencies”,

• (b) in paragraph (b) of section 17(7), by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (iii):

• “(iii) Taighde Éireann,”,

• (c) in section 20(3)(a), by the insertion of “and Taighde Éireann” after “the Minister”,

• (d) in section 21, by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (3):

• “(3A) An tÚdarás shall, in preparing the annual plan, consult with Taighde Éireann.”,

• (e) in section 33(5), by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (e):

• “(e) Taighde Éireann,”,

• (f) in section 39, by the insertion of “and Taighde Éireann” after “Qualifications and Quality Assurance Authority of Ireland”,

• (g) in section 50(1)(c), by the substitution of “and Taighde Éireann” for “and Science Foundation Ireland”,

• (h) in section 51(1), by the substitution of “Taighde Éireann” for “Science Foundation Ireland”,

• (i) in section 67(1), by—

• (i) the deletion of “and” after paragraph (a),

• (ii) the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a):

• “(aa) Taighde Éireann, information on any issue concerning a designated institution of higher education relating to the performance by it of any one or more of its functions specified in subsection (3) as respects that institution, and”,

and

• (iii) the addition of the following subsection after subsection (2):

• “(3) The functions of Taighde Éireann referred to in subsection (1) are those provided for in paragraphs (b), (c), (d), (e), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), (m) and (n) of section 9(1) of the Research and Innovation Act 2024.”.

70. Amendment of Schedule 5 to Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005

70. Schedule 5 to the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 is amended in paragraph 1(4) by the insertion of “Taighde Éireann,” after “Registrar of Beneficial Ownership of Companies and Industrial and Provident Societies,”.

71. Confirmation of acts done or purporting to have been done

71. (1) All acts done, or purporting to have been done, by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science in performing the functions of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment under sections 11 to 13 of the Industrial Development (Forfás Dissolution) Act 2014 during the period commencing on the 1st day of January 2021 and ending on the 15th day of April 2024 which would, but for this section, be invalid, shall be, and be deemed always to have been, as valid and effectual for all purposes as if those acts were done by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

• (2) If subsection (1) would, but for this subsection, conflict with a constitutional right of any person, the operation of that subsection shall be subject to such limitation as is necessary to secure that it does not so conflict but shall otherwise be of full force and effect.

72. Service of notices

72. A notice that is required to be sent or given to a person or body under this Act may be sent or given to the person or body in one of the following ways:

• (a) by delivering it to the person or body;

• (b) by addressing it to the person or body and leaving it at the address at which he or she ordinarily resides or is located or, in a case in which an address for service has been furnished, at that address;

• (c) by sending it to the person or body by post in a prepaid registered letter to the address at which he or she ordinarily resides or is located or, in a case in which an address for service has been furnished, to that address;

• (d) by sending it by means of electronic mail to a device or facility for the reception of electronic mail located at the address at which the person resides or carries on business or the body carries on business or, if an address for the service of a notice has been furnished by the person or body, that address, but only if the recipient’s facility for the reception of electronic mail generates a message confirming a receipt of the electronic mail and the notice is also given in one of the other ways mentioned in any of the preceding paragraphs (a) to (c).

Footnotes