Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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205. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the current procedure for notifying stakeholders of domestic and EU funding calls and if he will endeavour to contact all agricultural and aquaculture businesses to notify them of funding opportunities going forward. [15182/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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My Department is strongly committed to providing periodic funding opportunities for targeted research in the agri-food including aquaculture and forestry sectors through its three competitive national funding programmes - FIRM - focusing on food research, STIMULUS - focusing on agricultural production research and CoFoRD - focusing on forest research. The research funded through these programmes is undertaken, often collaboratively, by Irish research performing organisations e.g. Higher Education Institutes and Teagasc. Industry can participate in such proposals on a non-funded basis through in-kind contributions.

My Department publicises research calls widely, through, inter alia, advertising in the national press and all information relating to the call is made available on the Department’s website. In addition, research performing organisations and relevant groups such as the CoFoRD Council for forestry and the industry-led National Advisory Group on Agri-Food Research and Innovation (NAFRI) are contacted directly.

Horizon 2020, which is the European financial instrument supporting research and innovation, is directed nationally by Enterprise Ireland and is supported by a network of 32 advisors. My Department provides the ‘National Delegate’ and ‘National Contact Point’ and works alongside the Marine Institute to promote and support one of the strategic challenges identified for the Horizon 2020 research agenda, i.e. ‘Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture, Marine, Maritime and Inland Water Research and the Bioeconomy’. Under Horizon 2020 my Department provides funding for Irish research performing organisations to compete in calls under the European Research Area Networks (ERA-NETS) and Joint Programme Initiatives and research performing organisations are contacted directly by my Department when funding opportunities arise. In addition, my Department and the Marine Institute endeavour to ensure that all the relevant stakeholders such as businesses, community groups and Local Government, including County Councils, Local Enterprise Offices and LEADER organisations are made aware of the research funding opportunities. Also my Department works in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland, which has a very strong outreach to all industries including agriculture and aquaculture.