Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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573. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated annual cost to the Exchequer of increasing co-centres programme funding to €100 million for all-island research and innovation hubs. [38895/24]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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The Co-Centres Programme was established with the ambition of creating a dynamic research network across Ireland, Great Britain, and Northern Ireland, to deliver economic, societal, health and environmental impacts. Two Co-Centres are being funded by Taighde Eireann / Research Ireland, Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) – a Co-Centre for Sustainable Food Systems and a Co-Centre for Climate + Biodiversity + Water.

The Co-Centres, through co-operation and collaboration with industry and other key stakeholders, will bring scale, standing and cohesion to the research and innovation ecosystem across jurisdictions to facilitate a STEM-led multi-disciplinary programme of research and innovation. The Co-Centre Programme’s research may involve an inter-disciplinary approach across the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and shall be informed by a process of stakeholder engagement (including with end-users, policy makers and civil society).

Currently the Irish Exchequer has committed up to €35 million to the Co-Centres to be spent over a 6 year term, which commenced on the 1st January 2024. The Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has committed up to £17m and UK Research and Innovation has committed up to £12m. A total of €74m has therefore been allocated to this initiative.

To bring the programme to a total spend of €100m would require an additional €26m. However, as this would be subject to negotiation with the other jurisdictions participating in the project, as well as industry co-funders, it is not possible to specify the quantum of funding that would be required of the State of such a change.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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574. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated annual cost to the Exchequer of increasing the North-South research programme and shared island fund to €50 million. [38898/24]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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The North South Research Programme (NSRP) is funded by the Government’s Shared Island initiative and delivered by the HEA on behalf of Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

The first round under the North South Research Programme was allocated in October 2022. Funding, amounting to €37.28 million, was awarded on the basis of excellence, assessed through a rigorous and independent international peer-review process. 62 projects were awarded funding across three programme strands.

Arrangements for a second round of funding under the NSRP is currently being finalised.