State to invest €10m in research centres

THE GOVERNMENT is to invest €10 million in two new technology centres designed to turn research and development ideas into jobs.

Plans for the industry-led centres, which will concentrate on manufacturing research and energy efficiency, were announced yesterday by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton.

The centre for manufacturing research will undertake research to help industry improve competitiveness through cost reduction, service levels, customer responsiveness, output and productivity, waste reduction and product quality, among others.

It will be based at Intel, and will include Intel, Boston Scientific, Seagate, and Pfizer among others.

The energy efficiency research, centre, meanwhile, will be based at DePuy, with Analog Devices, Aughinish, EMC2, Bombardier and Carbury among the participants.

The centre will target research that will help manufacturers reduce energy costs.

“If we are to develop the companies of the future in Ireland, both indigenous and multinational, we must not only fund high-tech research in our universities but also crucially ensure that the research ideas we have developed can be put into action in industry. In this way new businesses can be created and established companies can expand and create more jobs,” Mr Bruton said.

IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland both welcomed the investment.

“Industry-led technology centres are regarded as one of the most sophisticated R&D vehicles internationally,” said Enterprise Ireland’s chief executive Frank Ryan.

IDA Ireland’s Barry O’Leary said the collaborative approaches in the centres would benefit both the companies involved and also give Irish industry a competitive advantage.