Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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431. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the total amount of funding allocated to the programme for research in third level institutions on an annual basis from 2010 to 2016 in tabular form; the total amount subsequently expended in each year; the amount of funding that has been allocated in 2017; the amount of funding that has been ring-fenced for research and frontier research in 2017; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9436/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) supports the provision of top-class research infrastructure (buildings, laboratories and cutting edge equipment) as well as human capital development, through Structured PhD/Emergent Technology programmes across Ireland’s Higher Education Institutes (HEIs).It is intended to facilitate Ireland’s HEIs to produce world class research in key strategic areas: including but not limited to bioscience/biomedical; medical technologies; energy, environment and marine; food and drink; social sciences and humanities; ICT and advanced communications and; platform technologies and materials.

The total funding allocated to PRTLI for each of the years 2010 to 2017 is set out in the following table: 

PRTLI funding 2010-2017

*2015 allocation included a Supplementary Estimate of €23.5m in December 2015

**2016 allocation included a Supplementary Estimate of €20m in December 2016

In addition to the allocation to the PRTLI, my Department is also allocating €162.5 million to Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) in 2017 to fund oriented basic and applied research.  The agency does not predetermine or “ring fence” specific funding allocation for basic or applied research.  Funding decisions are made through international peer review on the basis of research excellence and impact.

Action 3.8 of Innovation 2020, Ireland’s strategy for research and development, science and technology, provides for the establishment of a new programme to fund frontier research across all disciplines and all career stages.  The Irish Research Council (an agency of the Department of Education and Skills) has responsibility for developing and implementing this Programme.