An estimated £200 million (€253.95 million) in EU funding is about to be made available for research support in Ireland over the next five years.

Under the newly-launched fifth EU Framework Programme, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) throughout the European Union will receive almost 10 per cent of the total £11.781 billion (€14.96 billion) research budget.

Details of the latest programme were outlined to industrialists and academics at an information day at Clontarf Castle in Dublin yesterday. It was revealed that the fifth framework would differ from its predecessors by being "problem focused" as opposed to purely "technology focused".

Now thousands of research and technological development programmes will be funded with the specific goal of solving problems, instead of being solely research based.

In a programme overview, Mr Hendrik Tent, deputy director general of DGXII at the European Commission, said the commission now realised the important role SMEs could play in the future of the EU, because they focused on providing practical solutions.

"Research needs to be used as an instrument to solve the source of economic problems, and address issues of overall importance to the citizen. For example, we need an international alliance to tackle the worsening problems of tuberculosis, allergies in cities and food chain issues," Mr Tent said.

He also commended Ireland for setting a good example to its EU counterparts during the fourth framework programme by putting most of its funding into private industry instead of public infrastructure. Ireland's expected allocation for the next four years has increased by about one third. The fifth framework will differ from its predecessors by being more flexible and working to a cross-programme format. Funded projects will be multi-disciplinary and feature a stronger socio-economic dimension.

Projects must include researchers from more than one country, and many countries are eligible to take part including countries that have yet to join the EU. It is also open to companies in Australia or the US which have formal research agreements with the EU.

Interested applicants can submit proposals for fifth framework funding from early March. For preliminary details contact Ms Josephine Lynch at Forfas. Telephone: 01 6073186 Fax: 01 607 3260