Last month's announcement of the establishment of an Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences was just what the doctor ordered.

UCD historian Dr Maurice Bric had been charged by the Minister for Education in November 1997 to examine ways to improve support for research in the humanities and social sciences (HSS), including the establishment of a research council.

His report, The Humanities and the Social Sciences: A Case for a Research Council, was submitted to Minister Micheal Martin in early December.

Bric recommends the establishment of a permanent council of 11 members, nine of whom should be full-time academics appointed by the Minister. "In all cases," he says in his report, "the Minister should appoint only those who are full-time academic members of a recognised institution of learning or higher education in Ireland and who have an acknowledged status as researchers or teachers in the humanities and social sciences."

The two remaining members are to be co-opted by the council. Members will serve for periods of two and four years.

"The council should be set up as an independent and autonomous agency after the manner of research councils in Europe," he says.

The council will make research awards based on an independent, competitive and peer-reviewed process. The report suggests that research grants be awarded on both an individual and team basis.

Graduate scholarships for full-time students pursuing research-based graduate degrees in HSS will be an important element.

The way for these has already been paved: the Government of Ireland Scholarship Scheme was launched in 1988 and was administered by the Interim Council of the Humanities and Social Sciences. To date over 130 such scholarships have been awarded. These are now worth £8,000 per annum.

THE BRIC REPORT also recommends the establishment of an award scheme for postdoctoral fellowships, research fellowships and research professorships, all worth £20,000 annually.

The programme will also enable these scholars, fellows and professors to have access to separate bursaries for archival and field work.

All the signs are that research in the humanities and social sciences, which has been underfunded for so long, is about to enter a golden age. In the past, HSS research has been widely regarded as something of a luxury: it was research in the sciences and technology which provided an economic return. But HSS research has an important role to play.

"Investment in the economy should be complemented by attempts to understand the broader and cultural contexts of development, past and present," the report argues.

"In personal terms, the HSS researcher brings important skills and perspectives to both the wider world of research and the community at large and this will ensure that policy, whether it is defined in public terms or within higher education and research institutions will not evolve in an unbalanced way."

The report notes that while science graduates are often employed for their knowledge, this is seldom the case with arts graduates who are generally employed for the qualities and abilities their education has given them. The report cites arguments supporting the role the humanities can play in the development of automated information systems. "Unless we can contextualise technological developments, we will be dominated by them," argues John Laver, chairman of Britain's Humanities Research Board.

"To allow technology to develop in a mechanistic way would be disastrous. A combination (of the sciences and humanities) takes society forward."

"For many HSS academics," the report states, "higher numbers (of undergraduate and postgraduate students) have further distorted the relationship between teaching and research and reinforced the notion that HSS research is a bonus that flows from teaching. "However, at a time when third-level institutions are developing quality assurance programmes and more explicit criteria for promotion, HSS academics are stressing as never before that quality teaching and research are inextricably interlinked, especially in upper-level courses. "Research is central to the function, integrity, standards and organic development of the university. These two aspects of academic life are complementary, not mutually exclusive."

ACCORDING to the report, the lack of designated budgets for research has resulted in limited opportunities for academic leave in HSS departments. "Most Irish universities do not have formal schemes for research leave . . . for individual HSS academics within the IT sector, the number of institutional opportunities to fund research leave are few, even in comparison with those that are available in universities."

The establishment of a research council would have far-reaching effects - other than the disbursement of funds - and could increase opportunities for researchers to benefit from EU programmes and to interact on a greater scale with researchers in Northern Ireland, for example.

"It's an important day for HSS research in Ireland," the Minister said as he announced the establishment of the council. He has allocated £2.5 million to cover the proposed projects for the coming academic year.

Within five years, annual funding will reach £6.5 million "following submission of the appropriate reports", he has promised.