Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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522. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the new €40 million North-South research programme will fund new PhD research projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37575/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The new North-South Research Programme recently announced with the support of the Shared Island Fund will be administered by the Higher Education Authority (HEA).  The HEA’s approach will encompass a portfolio of investment instruments to take account of the different types of nascent cross-border research opportunities.  The Programme will be structured along the following three strands:

- Bilateral researcher-researcher projects

This will support individual researchers based in an Irish higher education institution (HEI) to collaborate with a researcher in a HEI in Northern Ireland on an identified research project.

- Emerging hubs of excellence

This strand will support research teams to collaborate on an agreed work programme.  Interdisciplinary collaborations will be encouraged.

- Institutional strategic research engagement 

Higher education institutions will be supported to collaborate with each other on the basis of their respective institutional strategic research priorities. 

Strands II and II may involve funding awards up to a maximum of four years and, as such, may include provision for doctoral education if it aligns with the wider objectives of the proposal.  The HEA is currently developing the details of the Programme call and these will be available on their web site (www.hea.ie)before the end of Q3 2021.