923. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the supports that are available for PhD researchers who wish to avail of funding in the discipline of humanities, who may have previously availed of the Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47550/26]

Taighde Éireann - Research Ireland provides stipends to approximately 3,000 of the almost 11,000 registered PhD students per year (approximately 700 new awards per year), with a further 1,000 funded from other public funders. The remaining students receive some level of institutional scholarship support from their host higher education institution with the assistance of core funding from the Higher Education Authority or are privately funded, either by the individual or an employer.

Taighde Éireann - Research Ireland published its five-year strategy in March 2026, which includes a commitment to increase the number of PhDs to 3,800 over the lifetime of the strategy, and to review the funding programmes of its predecessor agencies to ensure that they are delivering across all research disciplines – a key objective of the agency as set out in the Research and Innovation Act, 2024.

A Programme Plan of planned activity was published in April of this year, with details of available open funding calls updated on a regular basis on the agency website.

The current agency portfolio of programmes delivers regular access to research funding across all disciplines and career stages, including PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. Funding for PhDs and early career researchers is provided through three main mechanisms with funding split broadly equally between:-

1. Government of Ireland Programmes

2. Research Centres, the new Rinn Network and Centres for Research Training

3. Individual Principal Investigator-led project funding

Over the past year, Taighde Éireann - Research Ireland has undertaken stakeholder consultation on the proposed evolution of Government of Ireland PhD scholarship and post-doctoral fellowship programmes, with ongoing engagement with stakeholders and representative groups. 20 consultation engagement sessions have taken place since February, including seven in-person Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS) specific sessions across the country, and two online webinars (with audience Q&A) reaching over 700 participants. Further consultations are scheduled.

As the agency commences the implementation of the strategy, new mechanisms are being developed to provide increased opportunity for investigator-led research and for the AHSS community, including larger-scale grants. There has been no reduction in funding for AHSS research, PhDs, or basic/fundamental research, and no reduction in funding or in the number of awards to be funded is planned. The agency funding portfolio is split almost evenly between investigator led and thematic research, and it is intended to maintain this balance across the programme plan and agency funding portfolio. AHSS researchers are also now able to lead teams on large projects, representing a substantive improvement in the opportunity landscape for AHSS researchers.

Other calls funded or managed by the agency and available to AHSS researchers include:

- Public Service Fellowships – placing researchers in government departments and agencies (open to all disciplines).

- Challenge funding (open to all disciplines).

- International Calls.

- Research Ireland/ UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council joint call on Creative Industries.

- Co-funded EU calls.

Taighde Éireann - Research Ireland is the National Contact Point for the Excellence pillar under Horizon Europe, providing a suite of supports to researchers considering applying for Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) and European Research Council (ERC) Funding across all disciplines.

The agency is engaging closely with research offices in the Higher Education Institutions, and students are advised to contact their local research office, or to engage with the agency directly, to get up to date information on current and future funding calls under the published Programme Plan.