Two years of €1m a week in EU funding

DUBLIN: IRISH RESEARCHERS have been accessing the equivalent of €1 million a week in EU research funding over the last two years.

According to Minister of State for Science, Technology and Innovation, Conor Lenihan, researchers from Irish companies and higher education institutions won funding totalling €107 million in the last two years for collaborative research projects in areas like information and communications technology (ICT), health, nano-technology and energy research.

Speaking at a conference in Dublin to mark the Seventh EU Framework Programme for R&D in Dublin, the Minister said: "The EU agenda complements our national priorities with an emphasis on moving new discoveries from the research stage to the marketplace, allowing Ireland to play our part in building a low-carbon economy and tackling diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's disease."

The EU programme incorporates a €50 billion fund that is seen as a major asset in the EU's fight against the current economic crisis.

Dr Imelda Lambkin, director of the national support network for the programme, said: "The Irish success rate ahead of the overall EU average means we are in line with the national target of winning €600 million in EU R&D funding by 2013."