From left: Micol Martinelli, national director for Horizon Europe; Colm O’Reardon, secretary general at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science; and Mairead McGuinness, former EU commissioner. Image: Shane O'Neill/Coalesce
The funding equates to 2.14pc of the €39bn awarded under Horizon Europe to date.
Irish organisations have been awarded €836.4m in funding so far from the EU’s Horizon Europe 2021-2027 research and innovation programme, according to an announcement released today (5 December).
The funding from Horizon Europe is distributed across 1,295 projects involving 487 individual Irish organisations and businesses, which include higher education institutions, research performing organisations, public organisations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Nearly half of these organisations (47pc) have been awarded more than a quarter of a million euro, while one in five have secured greater than €1m.
217 Irish SMEs have been awarded a combined total of €233m under Horizon Europe to date, while Ireland ranks at number four among the 27 EU member states for SME participation in projects.
The seven-year funding programme aims to support organisations in addressing global challenges, conducting groundbreaking multidisciplinary research, and boost the EU’s industrial competitiveness and growth.
Ireland’s overall national drawdown target is €1.5bn, or 1.6pc of Horizon Europe’s €95.5bn budget from 2021-2027. To date, the total funding granted to Irish projects equates to 2.14pc of the total amount awarded under Horizon Europe so far (€39bn).
The top three funding successes for Ireland under the Horizon Europe framework are: €131m worth of European Research Council (ERC) grants being allocated to academic researchers; €122m to the digital, industry and space programme area; and €121m to the food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and environment programme area.
The announcement today coincides with the Horizon Europe Impact Conference, which is taking place at the Convention Centre in Dublin.
Ireland is ‘leading and participating in impactful research’
Speaking of the Horizon Europe conference, Colm O’Reardon, secretary general at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, said: “This is a welcome opportunity to take stock at the halfway point of Horizon Europe, to reflect on our successes so far and look forward to Ireland leading and participating in impactful research and innovation projects with our international partners.”
Micol Martinelli, national director for Horizon Europe in Ireland, also commended the talent coming out of the country in recent years.
Martinelli added that Ireland’s overall success in the Horizon Europe programme “shines a spotlight on the innovation capability of Irish organisations” which are competing and winning on a pan-European level.
“This EU funding is instrumental in providing critical support to enable researchers to further develop their innovations which will influence and strengthen EU policy for the good of future generations.”
A number of noteworthy attendees are attending the conference, including former European Commissioner Mairead McGuiness, Dr Luke O’Neill, a professor of biochemistry in the School of Biochemistry and Immunology at Trinity College Dublin, and the deputy director for health and societal transitions at the European Commission, Henriette Van Eijl.
Horizon Europe has encouraged research and innovation in Ireland since its launch in the country back in 2021.
On Tuesday (3 December), it was announced that six researchers from University College Dublin and University College Cork would receive millions in grants from the ERC to support their research.
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