Although, there is room for more ambition, says Micol Martinelli.

Ireland has achieved more than 55pc of its €1.5bn national funding target under Horizon Europe, and Marina Donohoe, the head of research and innovation at Enterprise Ireland tells SiliconRepublic.com that if Ireland continues to do just as well, “there’s every possibility that (the country) will not just meet but exceed the target”.

Yesterday (5 December), Horizon Europe – the EU’s research and innovation programme – along with Enterprise Ireland hosted an Impact Conference, taking a look back at Ireland’s achievements through the programme since it was launched in the country in 2021.

According to the latest figures, Irish organisations have been awarded €836.4m in funding so far under the current iteration of Horizon Europe which runs from 2021 until 2027.

The seven-year funding programme aims to support organisations in addressing global challenges, conducting groundbreaking multidisciplinary research, and boost the EU’s industrial competitiveness and growth.

In Ireland, funding from the programme has been distributed across nearly 1,300 projects – including higher education institutions, research and public organisations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While nearly one in five of these organisations have secured greater than €1m.

Overall, the country’s top three successes under the Horizon Europe framework are: €131m worth of European Research Council (ERC) grants being allocated to academic researchers; €122m to the digital, industry and space programme area; and €121m to the food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and environment programme area.

Moreover, Ireland ranks fourth among the 27 EU member states for SME participation in projects.

Meanwhile, Micol Martinelli, the national director for Horizon Europe, says that there is room for more ambition, which she believes can be achieved through taking a more proactive role with projects.

“I think that definitely there room for being more ambitious. We’ve been – if you take the international comparison – at the 13th place across the new member states for too long.”

Explaining how Ireland can achieve a better ranking, she says, “one way to do it is to be more ambitious – to encourage more coordinators.

“And then secondly to have a pipeline so people who have gone for certain funding within Horizon Europe can … build on the successes of the previous projects.”

“Lastly, I think it’s about encouraging those who haven’t gotten their Horizon Europe funding yet.

“It’s all about demystifying,” she says, “there are a lot of preconceptions around how funding can be difficult.”

Elaborating on the supports available to businesses looking for funding, Donohoe says that Enterprise Ireland has a “dedicated” team with specialists who meet with potential companies, understand what their domain expertise is and then work closely with the company to respond to funding calls and find partners.

The bigger picture needs stability

Mairead McGuinness, the former EU commissioner for financial stability, financial services and the capital markets union spoke at the conference yesterday and pushed for a single market for capital in the region.

Later, in conversation with SiliconRepublic.com, she reiterates her support for the Capital Markets Union (CMU) – currently in discussion at an EU level – and says that without the CMU – a single market for capital – innovative businesses born in the EU will move to the US.

“I think where we’re failing our companies … [is] when they want to scale up, the easiest place usually for them is not in Europe, it’s the US.

“So they tend to pack up their bags and move and we lose the brain power – the potential for more business and jobs.”

She said that Ireland looses this talent because the capital isn’t there – “which is the Savings and Investment Union or Capital Markets Union”.

McGuiness, who served at the EU in different key positions for 20 years, also says that there is a strong need for regulatory stability in the EU.

“When you’re in business, whether you’re smaller or large, you need to know that governments are stable, that the financial system is stable – anything we do has to bear that in mind.

“We don’t have a single market for capital – that really impacts all companies and citizens. We don’t have a retail investment culture and we don’t have the access to finance for SMEs that they need beyond bank finance.

“But we can get there – and I think that’s the message of hope.”

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