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National Development Plan Funding

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 October 2018

Thursday, 18 October 2018

Ceisteanna (13)

Jan O'Sullivan

Ceist:

13. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the way in which the disruptive technologies innovation fund can be applied for; when grants will be awarded under the fund; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42699/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí ó Béal (2 píosaí cainte)

Mine is pretty much the same question as that asked by Deputy Kelleher. This is my third question in today's lottery. I have done so well that I must buy a national lottery ticket tonight.

The Minister clearly answered Deputy Kelleher's questions about the expert panel and so on. I primarily wanted to ask about funding. If the Minister has a different answer, she might give it. If she has exactly the same answer, I can ask a supplementary.

I will refer to the types of projects that will be funded. They must include the use of disruptive technologies that will significantly alter the way we work and live. It will involve collaboration, innovation and-or be disruptive in its impact on one of the sectors in the research priority areas. That includes ICT, health and well-being, food, energy, climate action and sustainability, manufacturing and materials, business services and processes. Within each of these six themes, we identified specific priority areas such as robotics, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, advances and smart manufacturing and smart and sustainable food production and processing. When we launched the call, we published a reference document that clearly set out the eligibility and selection criteria for selecting suitable projects.

These criteria were designed to ensure that we are funding truly disruptive technologies and that we are not funding projects that we can do through other programmes. To ensure that we fund projects of scale and impact we are asking for funding applications for amounts of €1 million or more. There has been a major response to the fund, so much so that the qualifying projects have now been whittled down by the experts. They were expressions of interest initially and they have now been asked to put forward full applications. To be helpful to those businesses that put considerable effort into submitting applications or expressions of interest I have asked my Department to give them all feedback and to see whether there are any other opportunities, including, for example, whether these businesses could get funding through initiatives funded by Enterprise Ireland and whether there are other ways we could help them.

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