At the end of April, Research Ireland released their Programme Plan 2026, which outlined changes being made to PhD and post-doctoral research funding. According to the plan, Research Ireland is seeking to cancel what is known as the Irish Research Council (IRC), comprising the government of Ireland’s post-graduate scholarship scheme and the post-doctoral fellowship scheme.
Previously, through the IRC, independent researchers undertaking PhDs could apply for PhD and post-doctoral funding as well as supervisors hiring PhD students. A limited number of research grants were given to the highest quality applicants across subjects and fields. The current plan of Research Ireland is seeking to cancel and replace the IRC with a potential new model still being discussed by stakeholders.
The proposed new model for PhD and post-doc research funding hopes to combine all applicants from a single Higher Education Institution (HEI) into one larger application. Instead of funding being provided on the basis of the quality of individual applicants across universities, HEIs with the highest overall quality will receive funding accordingly. Although Research Ireland has confirmed that they will not be reducing the overall funding, they place the onus of distributing funds not only to the researchers themselves but to administrative staff within HEIs.
In speaking to Matthew Mosse, the President of Trinity’s post-graduate Workers Organisation (PWO), certain concerns with this new model of funding were brought up in a meeting with Research Ireland. By giving HEIs the authority to make a larger funding application, colleges may prioritise research areas that are more profitable and prestigious, “hot topics”, and run the risk of 1) alienating other fields and subjects and 2) placing research and researchers at the whims of their institution. Previously, because funding was at an individual level, Mosse says, “we could keep research going in these areas rather than universities being able to put things in the areas that they can have more control over”.
Another concern that the PWO raised with Research Ireland was on how they planned to uphold maternity and paternity leave, which have only been introduced in the past year, given that the funding model is being replaced. Once again, Mosse explained that HEIs are being given responsibility over ensuring the maintenance of these rights, leading to inconsistent application of these rights across different colleges, universities, and departments. Research Ireland reassured the PWO in their meeting that checks and balances would be put in place to ensure its proper enforcement.
Shockingly, Research Ireland came to their decision to scrap and replace the current funding model after meeting with just the Irish Universities Association (IUA), consisting of the heads, presidents, provosts, etc. of all the HEIs across Ireland. Following this meeting, Research Ireland made the final decision to change the funding model and proceeded to do more “consultations” with around a 100 or so stakeholders. It must be noted that these further consultations were also references from the IUA rather than independently sought-out stakeholders. Research Ireland did not consult important groups like the Union of Students in Ireland (AMLE), the PWO, the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT), and any individual students’ unions, nor were they consulted at any point after the initial decision. According to Mosse, “there was no consultation with any of the bodies representing people that would be affected”, although he believes that Research Ireland didn’t do so “out of malice but wholeheartedly took IUA’s word for it”, even if it was at the cost of ignoring “democratically elected representatives of hundreds and thousands of students and 10,000 PhDs”.
Although the final decision on the new model has not been made yet, organisations like the PWO and AMLE believe “it will just be whatever universities want”. Speaking on the reaction amongst various stakeholders in universities, Mosse added that “there is anger among PhDs, postdocs, but also ordinary staff, ordinary PIs. At the higher level, heads of schools and heads of universities do not seem to be nearly as worried because this is a large amount of extra money and power given to them. But ordinary staff, [post-graduates], postdocs, do not trust their own universities, let alone Research Ireland”.
The main and biggest concern being raised by representative bodies to Research Ireland has been with regard to the allocation of money. In the previous system, the processing of applications was handled on a case-by-case basis by Research Ireland themselves. However, now universities may reallocate part of the funding to administrative duties since they have to internally process applications before applying for packaged funding from Research Ireland under the new proposed model. Internal concerns amongst bodies representing those affected believe that the overall number of PhDs and post-doctoral researchers will reduce since stipends will shrink. On the other hand, Research Ireland and Education Minister James Lawless’ reassurances that the overall amount will not decrease. However, Research Ireland and Lawless differ, with the former saying they would welcome fewer PhDs at a higher quality and the latter stating that the number of PhDs will remain unaffected. Mosse and the PWO believe that “that’s not good enough if universities were taking more out of that money. And with inflation, all the other prices will increase, [but] our stipends are not increasing with inflation.” Since their formation, PWO pushed for an increase in wages of post-graduate workers, PhDs, and post-doctoral researchers, “which had not been increased since the recession [in 2008]”. In 2023, the €25,000 stipend was recommended after two years of discussion, but over the course of those two years, the overall minimum wage had increased by 25 per cent.
The issues surrounding the restructuring of funding applications are a symptom of the fact that PhDs and post-doctoral researchers are still recognised as “students” and not “workers” in Ireland, and therefore lack basic workers’ rights such as minimum wage and independent review when facing concerns with their supervisors. This has been the aim of the PWO since its formation in 2023.
Mosse called this “a crisis”, saying: “We [Ireland] spend far less per capita on research and innovation than almost any other EU country, despite us being technically one of the wealthiest countries and being so heavily reliant on research and innovation because of our theoretically, technically advanced economy. So just the headline number saying, “the same is enough” when universities might skim more off the top, inflation will continue to go up, our stipends will not. It’s [not] good enough.”
Another issue that accompanies a lack of workers’ rights is that it is difficult to systemise and enforce the payment of “students” rather than “workers”. Research Ireland in meetings with the PWO and other associated bodies, promised to ensure HEIs followed the €25,000 stipend minimum and promised to ensure colleges implemented the maternity leave policy. Mosse said in response, “we’ll believe you when we see it”.
A final comment from the PWO stated that “there doesn’t seem to be much of a strategy in Ireland on research at all. This comes on the back of SFI and IRC merging, causing chaos. Then they changed the things you needed to do to apply to the IRC: you could only have one application per supervisor; you couldn’t apply if you had already started the PhD and only needed to fund the last three years. This again caused confusion and chaos close to the date when people needed to apply. This is another shake-up of the system […] with very little clarity and essentially no consultation. And again, the money is staying the same. There is no actual increase or real strategy coming off this; this is moving deck chairs on the Titanic”.
Mosse also spoke on Ireland’s place within the rest of Europe: “What we need is a real strategy to be competitive with the rest of Europe. PhDs are paid far more in other countries and the rest of Europe is moving towards a workers’ model rather than a students’ model. It is outdated, it doesn’t work, and Ireland is haemorrhaging its young people to other countries because why on earth would they be paid poverty wages for four years? This is creating extra uncertainty on top of terrible conditions. Our main concern is mostly with the government and Research Ireland is just a symptom of that.”
Within Trinity, the Post-Graduate STEM Faculty Convener, Niamh Donnelly, expressed their perspective on the situation, saying: “As a current Research Ireland-funded PhD researcher, I know firsthand how important this funding is not only for individual researchers but for the wider research ecosystem. Being able to propose a novel research topic and securing funding from a centralised agency can determine whether someone can continue doctoral research, as was my own case as a disabled researcher. Proposed changes to the Research Ireland–Government of Ireland post-graduate Award risk deepening inequalities between those who secure funding before beginning a PhD and those who enter doctoral study through more precarious routes, including self-funding, departmental funding, or short-term arrangements.”
As the Post-Graduate STEM Faculty Convener, Donnelly highlighted the issues they identified in their role and how Research Ireland’s proposed changes would compound issues of “insecure income, high rents, rising living costs, exploitative working conditions, limited institutional recognition, and uneven support across departments”. Based on these issues, Donnelly added, “Funding reforms must be assessed within that wider context. Funding a higher PhD stipend is welcome, but it does not address the broader precarity of doctoral work if PhDs continue to be excluded from basic employment protections”. Furthermore, Research Ireland risks excluding PhD researchers who enter through non-linear routes and “excluding later-stage applicants risks further privileging those with the resources, institutional knowledge and supervisory support to be selected for PI-led PhD projects”.
Similar to the PWO, Donnelly’s stance on the overall issue is one that reaffirms a lack of faith in Research Ireland and a hope for future transparency and consultation: “Research Ireland stated there will be no reduction in expenditure supporting groups such as PhD students, but that the programme mechanisms will change. That commitment must now be matched by transparent communication and meaningful consultation with post-graduate researchers and student body representatives to ensure that PhD stipends and conditions are standardised and improved across all HEIs within any new funding process. Such processes should not be redesigned around doctoral researchers without doctoral researchers at the table.”
MJ Quill, AMLE’s Vice President for Post-Graduate Affairs, echoed the PWO’s concerns regarding the welfare of PhD researchers and identified more immediate issues such as the quick turnaround time. They stated: “For almost a decade, SFI, IRC and now Taighde Éireann–Research Ireland have operated these schemes, giving aspiring researchers an opportunity to apply directly to funding from national funding agencies. To make such a drastic change with less than five months before the typical window for these funding calls adds significant stress to anyone considering a research career. In addition to this, AMLÉ and the PWO share concerns as to what this change could mean for stipend levels across different institutions, differences in HR policies and the capacity for institutions to take on this administrative responsibility.”
AMLE and the PWO met with Research Ireland to express these concerns and hope that their meetings encouraged further cooperation from Research Ireland to facilitate researchers with the new policy. Quill noted, “We have since met with representatives of Taighde Éireann–Research Ireland to discuss these concerns, and we do recognise the potential this change offers to HEIs in terms of facilitating higher success rates and strategic decision-making on research goals at the institutional level, but our concerns will always be primarily around the welfare of researchers. We will be engaging with Taighde Éireann–Research Ireland going forward to ensure that our members are fully up to date with how this new funding system will affect them, but we continue to emphasise that the only long-term solution for research career precarity at the doctoral level is to move to a formal model of doctoral employment, as is the case in many other EU countries and which has been recommended by international bodies such as Eurodoc and the European Students’ Union.”
