Call for release of research funds

WORK to develop cancer treatments, healthier food and high-end technology has been funded by University College Cork’s €150 million share of a national research fund, but the Government is under pressure to make the next round of money available as soon as possible.

Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe would not speculate about the timing of an announcement of the next phase of the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) when he visited UCC yesterday, although Taoiseach Brian Cowen is expected to reveal the funding at an event marking the 10th anniversary of the scheme on Thursday.

Mr O’Keeffe visited some of the labs built under the PRTLI at UCC yesterday, including the Cork Cancer Research Centre which is to begin clinical trials soon with a device to assist in non-invasive procedures for patients with inoperable colorectal cancer.

The centre is based at UCC’s Biosciences Institute and was funded under the PRTLI, which has funded mostly capital projects for research at universities and institutes of technology to the tune of €865m. The fifth cycle of funding for the scheme, operated through the Higher Education Authority, was expected to have been announced before the summer, but Mr O’Keeffe then put it off until after the budget. “The fact that the Taoiseach is... mark [ing] the 10th anniversary of PRTLI is testimony to the emphasis the Government puts on research and development, particularly in third level institutions,” he said.

Mr Cowen is believed to be focusing on increasing Ireland’s reputation as a research excellence hub as part of an economic recovery programme and this is likely to feature strongly in his statement on this policy area later this week.

The need to continue the investment was made clear by UCC vice-president for research Professor Peter Kennedy, who said Ireland can only maintain and improve its international niche markets in food and drink, manufacturing, electronics, biotechnology and other sectors by developing the products and technologies needed for these industries nationally and globally.

UCC deputy president and registrar Professor Paul Giller said while the university has benefited enormously from PRTLI and other research funding, Government support for research must not be at the expense of third level teaching and learning.

“The Government and the country must be willing to sustain and continually improve the resources available to allow universities to meet the demands placed on them by national strategies and to compete internationally,” he said.