Tánaiste Announces Seven Million Euro In Industry Research Initiatives

Focused on research with a direct impact on industry, these centres are a joint initiative of Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland and a key element of Government plans to build a smarter, greener economy. Government funding is being provided of up to €1 million per initiative for this initial research phase.

The seven research initiatives cover ICT, involving nanotechnology, microelectronics and IT innovation; manufacturing using composite materials, manufacturing process technologies and energy efficiency in factories; and new technologies in bio-energy and bio-refining.

64 companies were involved in the planning for these Competence Centres including multinationals like Medtronic, Intel, Xilinx, Seagate, Analog Devices Ltd, De Puy and Bombardier Aerospace and Irish companies such as Creganna, AER Ltd, ÉireComposites Teo, Proxy Biomedical, S3, Aerogen, and Redmere.

It is expected that when fully operational, a further 200 companies in Ireland will be directly associated with the Competence Centres.

Making the announcement the Tánaiste said: "Creating employment through knowledge and innovation in our existing companies is a key Government priority as outlined in our strategy 'Building Ireland's Smart Economy'. The Competence Centre initiatives will use collaborative research to address the challenges of making Irish manufacturing more competitive, and exploit the opportunities in the emerging energy, green technologies and IT sectors."

The Competence Centre initiatives will carry out market-focussed strategic R&D for the benefit of industry and will be resourced by highly qualified researchers.

Welcoming the announcement, the Minister for Science, Technology, Innovation and Natural Resources Conor Lenihan T.D said: "Bringing together companies with similar research needs and teaming them with highly-qualified researchers to produce marketable products and services is a highly efficient way of conducting industrial research. This collaborative approach to creating and managing intellectual property will not only benefit the companies involved but will deliver a competitive advantage to Irish industry, reinforcing Ireland's reputation as a flexible and innovative country."