Ireland secures €336.7m from EU for research and innovation

Minister John Halligan said he is "particularly pleased that Irish SMEs have secured €74 million in funding.” (Photo: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie)

€74 million of EU funding will go to Irish SMEs

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Ireland has won a total of €336.7 million from the EU for research and innovation, up until the end of September. This is equivalent to an average of €2.4 million every week, the Minister for Training, Skills and Innovation, John Halligan announced today.

The latest results follow Ireland’s participation in Horizon 2020, the EU’s €75 billion programme for research and Innovation. The latest figure is an increase of €85 million, from the previous result of €251 million up to November 2015.

Higher Education Institutes accounted for €198 million or 59% of the total. Meanwhile, companies won €104 million or 31%, with €74 million of this going to SMEs.

Welcoming these results, Minister Halligan described Horizon 2020 as “an important source of funding”, that  “provides a mechanism for researchers and companies in Ireland to network and collaborate with the best researchers and leading companies across Europe.

“These benefits are particularly important for a small, island nation,” he added. “SMEs are a key target for Horizon 2020 and I am particularly pleased that Irish SMEs have secured €74 million in funding.”

The government has set an ambitious target to secure €1.25 billion in funding from Horizon 2020 over the period 2014-2020 and according to the Minister, “these latest results show that Ireland is on track to achieve this target”.

Professor Mark WJ Ferguson, director general of Science Foundation Ireland and chief scientific adviser to the government of Ireland said the news “demonstrates the strength and quality of our research base”.

Horizon 2020 is “actively working to influence the 2018-2020 programmes to suit Irish interests and continues to seek newcomers to apply,” according to Dr Imelda Lambkin, the initiative’s national director for Horizon 2020. “Researchers and companies that use the services of the National Support Network for Horizon 2020 tend to double their chances of success in the programme,” she added.

Read More: EU funding research and innovation

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