The Government has been criticised for having no plans to initiate a new five year cycle of funding for top-class research infrastructure this year, even though the previous one has expired.
The Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions, launched in 1998, provides funding for buildings, labs and cutting edge equipment, as well as money for the development of researchers in structured PhD and Emergent Technology programmes.
Since 1998 there has been five cycles of spending under the programme, with €1.22 billion in exchequer and private matching funding allocated to date.
However, the last one expired in 2015 and there is currently no replacement in place.
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Mary Mitchell O'Connor has said a commitment to the planning and design of a successor to the last cycle is included in the Government's Innovation 2020 research strategy.
In a written response to a parliamentary question, the minister said her department is working closely with the Department of Education and Skills to develop the plans, which are at an early stage.
She also said that consultation with key stakeholders will take place in due course.
"It's clear that neither Minister for Jobs Mary Mitchell O'Connor nor Minister for skills John Halligan actually understand the importance of PRTLI cycles in supporting Irish research," said Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Education, Thomas Byrne, who lodged the question with the Minister.
He said: "The parliamentary reply that I have received from Jobs Minister Mary Mitchell O'Connor indicates that she is not prepared to allocate funding in 2017.
"This is deeply disappointing and will do immense damage to our research and innovation sector."
He added that PRTLI has traditionally been very successful because it was announced as a multi-annual investment package.
This allowed private sector matching funding to be sourced, he said.
But because the Government now appears to want to fund the programme on an annual basis, private matching sources cannot be secured from the private sector, he claimed.
