The Government has added an additional of €32 million to a fund for research in biotechnology and Information and Communication Technology(ICT) in Ireland.
The funds will cover the development of new research programmes at five Irish research bodies - four at University College Dublin, three each at Trinity College Dublin and University College Cork, two at National University of Ireland Galway, and one at the University of Limerick.
The new awards, to be administered by the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), combined with those announced in July 2001, mean that SFI is currently funding research projects in Ireland totalling almost d million over the next five years.
Speaking in Washington this morning at the announcement, the Tánaiste said the funds were in line with the Government's aim to attract the best scientists in these fields from around the world.
"These eminent scientists are the future of Irish innovation and research, and through them we continue to build our greatest resource of all - human talent," Ms Harney said.
"This is another important step for SFI that will pay enormous dividends for education, science, and industry in our country".
The two most substantial awards have been made to Professor David Parnas and Professor Chris Dainty.
Professor Parnas is one of the world's leading researchers in software engineering and is re-locating from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada to carry out his research at the University of Limerick.
Professor Dainty is a world leader in optics and will move from Imperial College in London to work on his research project in the National University of Ireland in Galway.
The announcement by the Tánaiste follows an SFI competitive merit review by international, independent researchers of proposals that were submitted from around the world.
The award recipients will initiate their SFI-funded research programmes at their host institutions later this year.