Ireland is to target €1 billion of the new €70 billion EU budget for research and innovation, following political agreement on the overall plan with the European Parliament.
The new six-year programme, Horizon 2020, is made up of three pillars of research; Excellent Science, Industrial Leadership and Societal Challenges.
The funding model has been simplified, meaning researchers and scientists should be able to access it with less bureaucracy.
The package also includes measures to widen participation from more diverse areas of science.
The political agreement now goes to Council and a plenary session of the European Parliament for endorsement.
Speaking in Brussels, Minister of State with responsibility for Research and Innovation Sean Sherlock said Ireland would set ambitious targets to ensure it maximises the drawdown of funds from Europe that have the capacity to create jobs, and this could be a prime source of such funding.
European Commissioner, Maire Geoghegan Quinn, who is responsible for research and innovation, described the political agreement as a very important step that will help ensure that Horizon 2020 can launch as planned next year, providing continuity of funding for researchers already drawing down funding from the previous programme.
