Robert Troy
Question:302. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the funding awarded to an organisation (details supplied). [32089/18]
View answerThursday, 12 July 2018
Questions (302)
Written answers
The Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) Technology Centre was established in 2014 under the joint Enterprise Ireland IDA Technology Centres programme.
Technology Centres are organised to respond rapidly to industry defined needs and conduct market-relevant R&D in partnership with collaborating groups of companies. Participating companies propose areas and themes of greatest relevance to them over a 3-5 year period and co-fund part of the research. In response, the researchers develop solutions that respond to these needs. Some of the capabilities of the IMR Technology Centre include: Production Energy Efficiency, Manufacturing Informatics, Manufacturing Data Analytics, Industrial IoT, Knowledge Management and Additive Manufacturing.
IMR is based in two locations - in Aerodrome Business Park, Rathcoole and its more recent location at the National Science Park in Mullingar.
The IMR sites in Rathcoole and Mullingar are part of one legal entity (Irish Manufacturing Research Ltd) and projects are carried out in and across both facilities. Therefore, it is not possible to provide a breakdown of payments between the two locations.
Under Enterprise Ireland’s financial supports for innovation, the agency has provided funding to the IMR through the Innovation Partnerships and Innovation Vouchers Programmes, as well as core Technology Centre funding. To date, €9.8m has been paid to the IMR Centre.
The IMR Centre in Mullingar has recently been awarded funding under Enterprise Ireland’s Regional Enterprise Development Fund (REDF) to develop significant and important research and development capability in the areas of Collaborative Robotics and Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality. Funding for this project was awarded under Stream One of the REDF which supports major regional, multi-national or national sectoral initiatives. No payments have been made to the IMR Centre under this initiative to date.