Welcoming the announcement that Ireland has secured €475 million in Horizon 2020 funding over the past three years, Fine Gael Senator and spokesman on EU Affairs, Neale Richmond has stated that it is vital that Horizon 2020 funding is pursued even more actively post-Brexit.
“Horizon 2020 is the EU’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. It is one of seven flagship initiatives in Europe 2020, the European Union’s ten-year jobs and growth strategy. It has a budget of €75 billion and runs from 2014 to 2020.
“Grants received from Horizon 2020 by Irish institutions are key to ongoing research projects across a range of areas.
“Many of the Irish institutions receiving funding are doing so in partnership with British institutions, these important partnerships are valid until 2020 even though the UK is due to leave the EU in March 2019 although this is dependent on a deal being agreed.
“A no-deal Brexit will cast these partnerships into doubt.
“Ireland has great success in securing funding from Horizon 2020 but post-Brexit this will become more difficult without British and Northern Irish institutions to partner with.
“Irish take up of pan European programmes such as Erasmus and our lower levels of proficiency in European languages are big stumbling blocks to all levels of European engagement including Horizon 2020.
“Ireland will therefore have to be even more proactive in this regard; our third level institutions and researchers must develop greater ties with other European third level institutions and the Government must prioritise further European engagement at ever level.”
