Irish break research funding record
Ireland's government smashed its research funding record on 8 March when it inaugurated the £560m technology Foresight fund. '[The fund] will be used to develop Ireland as a dynamic location for innovation, particularly in the technologies of tomorrow,' said Ms Mary Harney, Irish Minister for enterprise trade and employment, at the announcement of the fund. A dedicated research foundation will be established to evaluate research projects and allocate funding. 'The investment is in world class people and new knowledge creation. This will lead to innovation based on a combination of scientific, technical, commercial and financial factors,' Ms Harney continued. The establishment of the fund comes in reaction to extensive investigation of the country's needs in research and development, which began with a 12 month study by the Irish council for science technology and innovation (ICSTI) in 1998. Council
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