Forfás is the national policy advisory board for enterprise, trade, science, technology and innovation in the Republic of Ireland. The agency was established in January 1994 under the Industrial Development Act, 1993 and is run by a board appointed by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, to whom the agency is responsible.
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Legally, Forfás has five separate but related functions:
In its day-to-day business, the primary function of Forfás is to analyse developments in areas concerning Ireland's industrial and economic development and to make policy recommendations based on this analysis to Government. The Irish Government is not obliged to implement any recommendations that Forfás makes. Additional functions include:
As outlined above, Forfás also plays a significant role in co-ordinating the activities of Government Enterprise Agencies (Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland).
Forfás is ultimately a board of members that advises Government. Members are appointed to the Board of Forfás by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and as provided for in the Industrial Development legislation. Under the Industrial Development Act 1993, the CEOs of IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland are automatically Board members of Forfás. By tradition, the Director General of FÁS and the Secretary General of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment are also board members. The Board also includes a panel of business, economic and other specialists.
A full list of Board members is available from the Forfás website.
While Forfás is a board, that board is supported by an executive of salaried employees. Forfás is the sole legal employer of staff in its own executive, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland. Arising out of this, all staff employed in these bodies are Forfás employees seconded to such bodies. Upon retirement, Forfás assumes responsibility for their pension, resulting in Forfás having a large annual pensions cost and a significant liability under accounting standard FRS 17.
Forfás fulfils its mandate through three policy divisions:
The Competitiveness Division supports the Board of Forfás in providing advice to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the development agencies and other government departments. It has the following departments:
The Enterprise policy departments of this division supports the Board of Forfás in providing advice to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment on general enterprise development and related issues: It has the following three departments:
This Division supports the Board of Forfás in providing advice to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment on the development and implementation of science, technology, innovation and human capital policy for economic and social well-being. The division also provides research and secretariat support to the Advisory Science Council, the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs and the Management Development Council. It is made up of the following departments:
Forfás provides the secretariat to a number of committees established by Government. These include:
Forfás has also provided support to the Enterprise Strategy Group, the Small Business Forum, the Business Regulation Forum and the Consumer Strategy Group.
It also runs the Discover Science & Engineering (DSE) programme on behalf of the Office of Science & Technology. The programme bring together under one brand many of the existing national science, technology and engineering awareness activities and expands on these activities in a way that eliminates duplication and provides a more focused and effective communications strategy. The aim of the DSE programme is to encourage young people to consider careers in science, engineering and technology and, linked to that, to increase the numbers of students studying the physical sciences. In addition, the programme aims to raise the level of perception of science, technology, innovation and engineering among students and society in general. DSE runs numerous initiatives, including Science Week Ireland, Discover Primary Science, Greenwave and Science.ie.
The Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB) has three main functions. It:
Forfás was responsible for the successful EMU Business Awareness Campaign in the Republic of Ireland and related Loughrea Eurotown project and more recently, the Enterprise Strategy Group and the Consumer Strategy Group.
Forfás is the direct employer of all employees in the 'development agencies', including IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland and also is the legal employer of the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Irish Government. The post is currently held by Patrick Cunningham, Professor of Animal Genetics at TCD, who holds a PhD from Cornell University.
The previous holder of the post was Barry McSweeney, who resigned in 2005 when it was revealed that he got his doctorate from Pacific Western University, a so-called diploma mill.[1] McSweeney is now a director of research at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources.
| # | Name | Appointed | Retired |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Tom Toner | 1994 | 1999 |
| 2. | Peter Cassells | 2000 | 2004 |
| 3. | Eoin O'Driscoll | 2004 | Incumbent |
| # | Name | Appointed | Retired |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | John Travers | 1994 | 2002 |
| 2. | Martin Cronin | 2002 | 2010 |
| 3. | Martin Shanahan | 2010 | Incumbent |