Research funding worth €16 million has been announced under the Basic Research Grant Scheme. A total of 119 projects have won support under the scheme, run jointly by Enterprise Ireland and the Science Research Council.
The scheme backs basic research by individuals and small teams. The scientists are expected to delve into their subjects to make new discoveries, some of which could have commercial potential.
Research will be supported over the next three years, and the block grant represents the largest yet given under the scheme. It is also the first time Enterprise Ireland and the Science Research Council have organised combined support for the scheme.
The announcement was made yesterday by both the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney, and the Minister for Education and Science, Mr Dempsey. Two award recipients also made presentations of the research they would be conducting.
"The Basic Research Scheme is a vital support for national research initiatives, which are necessary for the development and promotion of a knowledge-based economy," the Tánaiste said yesterday.
Additional funding was given this year because of the importance of research for the State's continued growth, Mr Dempsey said. "As a result there has been a dramatic increase in the number of projects being offered funding, 119 projects this year compared to 69 in 2001."
The Irish Research Scientists' Association, the representative body for researchers, warmly welcomed the awards. "This is essentially a doubling of funding," said Dr Donal Leech, chairman of the association and lecturer at NUI Galway.
"On the down side they are still only funding about 20 per cent of the applicants," he added. "We really have to get up to international norms where about one in three might expect funding. It is disheartening for those who apply year after year and don't get funding."
The Government increased research funding under the National Development Plan to unprecedented levels, a departure from past administrations, which gave only minimal funding. The goal is to push the Irish economy towards knowledge-based activities where the local company or individual would hold the rights to any commercial discoveries made.
The scheme has in previous years been funded by Enterprise Ireland alone. It is a vital programme in that it supports the smaller project-based research that cannot be funded under the much bigger Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions and Science Foundation Ireland schemes.
