Role will be split from leadership of nation’s biggest science funder to preserve independence
The post of Ireland’s chief scientific adviser to the government will be “decoupled” from that of director-general of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), according to higher education minister Simon Harris.
The decision follows repeated calls from members of the academic community, including the Royal Irish Academy, for a return to independence for the chief scientific adviser role. The position was combined with that of director-general of SFI, Ireland’s main public research funding body, in 2012.