Firms tap EU for innovation funds

THE economic downturn is forcing small businesses and scientists to join forces like never before and search for the products of the future.

Irish companies, once laggards when it came to investing in research, are now fighting for survival and are tapping into funds available for innovation.

The numbers applying for a share of the EU’s massive €50 billion budget has increased dramatically in the past few months. This is expected to expand further with the release by Research, Innovation and Science Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn of the latest tranche of funding. Worth €6.4bn, the money is expected to generate 165,000 jobs across the EU and involve about 3,000 small and medium sized enterprises.