Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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185. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of successful Irish applicants for ERC grant funding for each of the years 2012 to 2021, in tabular form; and the nature of those awards. [51640/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The attached table details the European Research Council (ERC) grant funding information for successful Irish applicants for the years 2012-2020.  ERC awards are made under the European Commission's Research & Innovation Framework Programmes.

In total, 127 projects were awarded ERC grant funding from 2012-2020. A total of €196 million was awarded in this time period.

2021 is the commencement year of the Horizon Europe Framework Programme and as such results and related data are not yet available. The ERC Database (erc.europa.eu/projects-figures/project-database) provides significant information on each Irish ERC Project.

The ERC complements other funding activities such as those of our national research funding agencies, and is a flagship component of Horizon Europe - the current framework programme.

The Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation are vital instruments for Ireland’s international research and innovation collaboration. In Horizon 2020, Ireland has so far won €1.18 billion in funding, and Irish researchers and innovators have particularly excelled in Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions and the European Research Council.

Horizon Europe is the ninth iteration of the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.  It was officially launched on 2 February 2021. Running from 2021-2027, Horizon Europe is the most ambitious Research and Innovation programme in the world with a budget of €95.5 billion. Building on the achievements of Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe offers a broad range of opportunities for Irish researchers, innovators and Irish companies of all sizes in the pursuit of new discoveries, scientific and technological advancement and innovation.

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