Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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152. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if the planned children’s research and innovation centre at the new national children’s hospital will be partly funded by her Department or agencies under her remit; if so, the expected amount; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11022/19]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The future Children’s Research and Innovation Centre (CRIC) is the planned new facility for paediatric research and innovation that will be located on the St James’s campus. The CRIC will be developed adjacent to the existing St James's Hospital campus research facilities and will be built using separately raised funds.

I understand that the potential for contribution to the cost of research facilities from a range of funding sources, including existing children’s research organisations, philanthropy sources, universities and competitive funding calls of the agencies under my Department are being explored.

At this point in time there is no specific funding commitment from my Department or agencies.

I would point out that all research funding awarded by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) is done so following rigorous international peer review. Successful research projects are funded based on research excellence as opposed to allocation to specific organisations.  There are no current funding proposals from the centre to the agencies of my Department.