More than 800 scientists will benefit from a €300 million investment in seven world-class research facilities across the country.
The money which will be invested over a six year period, has been hailed as a ‘game changer’ for the science industry and is made up of €200 million from the Exchequer and €100 million in cash and contributions from 150 businesses.
The research centres will cover a wide range of areas including ‘Big Data’ an Internet based information sector that is growing at 40% a year; marine renewable energy; advanced food research and the development of infant medical care.
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton said the investment “will lead to the establishment in Ireland of world-class centres of research excellence and scale which will be game-changers for Irish scientific research.
“The scheme will support more than 800 talented scientists, develop cutting-edge research and new technologies, attract dynamic partnerships with industry and ultimately help to create the jobs we need”.
He added that the government are aiming to build on the previous major achievements in scientific research over the last decade and to turn more ideas into jobs.
The investment will be distributed by the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) over the next six years. A review will take place halfway through this term.
Director of the SFI, Mark Ferguson said “This is the largest single research announcement to date in Ireland in terms of people and projects.”
The SFI said the seven funded research facilities were selected from a group of 35 proposals, after an international peer review process. They will be based across Ireland, and will work with specialists from other institutions and industry specialists.
The colleges involved include: University College Cork , University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, University of Limerick , NUI Galway, Cork Institute of Technology and Dublin City University.
Michael Cogley
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