The Government has announced an investment of €460 million in seven new research centres.
The Research Ireland centres will focus on the areas of AI, semiconductors, energy, medical devices, advanced therapies, pharma and biopharma, and quantum computing.
The centres will operate under a new national network called ‘Rinn’, the Irish word for a point, tip or headland.
Research Ireland said the network will support a more coordinated and internationally engaged research system with the aim of delivering national and international impact.
The seven new Rinn centres will support 577 research positions, develop over 800 PhDs, and involve 17 research-performing organisations in a coordinated, collaborative national effort.
The centres will have additional funding of €500 million to be leveraged from industry and other sources, with support from over 200 companies comprising over 100 multinational corporations and almost 100 SMEs.
The Government funding was announced by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science James Lawless.
“Research Ireland centres have, over the last 13 years, fundamentally reshaped our innovation landscape – turning excellent and innovative research into real-world societal and economic impact,” Mr Lawless said.
“With these seven new Rinn, we are building on this progress by supporting talent, strengthening industry partnerships, attracting foreign direct investment, advancing indigenous industry growth, promoting regional development, and enabling Ireland to remain internationally competitive,” he added.
CEO of Research Ireland Dr Diarmuid O’Brien said the Rinn network of centres will provide excellent multidisciplinary research, radical collaboration and deep connectivity at scale across 17 research performing institutions, industry, Government, public sector bodies, and the broader higher education and research system.
“Each Rinn will develop world-class talent, drive enterprise engagement with research, and reinforce Ireland’s international standing by creating a unique research and innovation ecosystem of international significance and scale,” Dr O’Brien said.
