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.