SMEs secure over 20% of Ireland’s EU research funds

Irish SMEs have secured more than 20% of the EU’s research funding going to the country, making them the fourth most successful in the union so far.

The EU had set a target of 15% of the €55 billion fund going to small enterprises, but Ireland has exceeded this target, with 102 businesses being awarded more than €43m.

Irish funding on research and development has lagged behind the EU average, with many multinationals failing to establish or develop research in their Irish plants.

Now the Government is focusing on research and Irish SMEs to create growth and jobs for the future.

A recent study showed that 85% of new jobs in the EU over the past eight years were created in small and medium-sized companies.

The main areas these enterprises are researching are nanosciencies, security, energy and transport.

In Ireland much of the research centres on health, food and fisheries.

Three of the projects, all in conjunction with EU partners, are developing a pandemic flu vaccine that can be administered through the nose; a high-accuracy cervical cancer test and marine research, led by a team from NUI Galway, studying how to maximise our use of the sea but in a sustainable way.

Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, the Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, said she was very pleased that the 15% budget target for SMEs had been reached, and it would remain an important element in distributing funds.

“Our future research and innovation programme, Horizon 2020, will continue to support the competitiveness of SMEs, which are the bedrock of the European economy”, she said, referring to the EU’s new research fund of €80bn.

Ms Geoghegan-Quinn said measures taken to encourage SMEs had proven successful, such as ring-fencing budgets or topics relevant to them.

As well as the 17,000 SMEs expected to receive funding by 2013, many more will benefit from research results since SMEs were involved in 73% of all research projects.

Research and science ministers have just finished a two-day meeting in Copenhagen where one of the issues discussed was Horizon 2020.

Morten Østergaard, the Danish minister who hosted the meeting, warned the negotiations on the details of the budget over the next year would be difficult, as countries fought to ensure there was sufficient money for other EU policies.