Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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168. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of the disruptive technologies innovation fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61035/21]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF) was established in 2018 to encourage collaboration in the development and deployment of disruptive innovative technologies, on a commercial basis, targeted at tackling national and global challenges. It is managed by my Department with administrative support from Enterprise Ireland.

DTIF focuses on the ability of Irish enterprises to drive disruptive innovation through collaboration on industrial research with other enterprises and research institutions. The Fund is open to partnerships working on projects that have the potential to significantly alter markets or the way businesses operate. It encourages private co-investment by lowering the risk profile associated with investment in high-risk, high-reward innovations. Applications to the Fund are required to, inter alia, demonstrate the potential to develop and deploy novel and disruptive technologies in line with the Research Priority Areas 2018-2023.

A total of €235 million has been allocated to 72 projects with 270 project partners over the first three DTIF calls to date. This funding will give the companies involved opportunities to grow their business, even when trading in increasingly competitive markets, through the development of innovative products and services. These enterprises will be in a strong position as the Irish and global economies rebound once the pandemic ends.

A Budget allocation of €67 million was made available for 2022 to fund claims from the successful projects under calls 1 to 3 and projects arising from the fourth DTIF call that I launched last month. The closing date for receipt of applications is 10 February 2022 and I look forward to receiving a further set of strong and innovative projects which will have the potential to change the status quo across a range of business sectors over the coming years.