The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Batt O’Keeffe TD, today announced more than €25m over the next 5 years for 139 researchers to carry out "cutting-edge" Irish research that he hopes will generate new jobs in the "smart" economy.

The researchers, who are based in higher education institutions, were awarded the funding under Science Foundation Ireland’s Principal Investigator Programme which supports strategic work in the life science, information communications technology and sustainable energy sectors. The selected researchers are working on what are termed 27 "pioneering projects." Announcing the funding, O’Keeffe said the selected projects had  the capacity to create new jobs in the “smart” economy because they targeted high-growth areas at the "cutting-edge" of innovation.

Politicians who are clueless when it comes to science but they have  a ready tool kit of jargon terms to sprinkle on their spending announcements.

"The wide range of projects on which the selected researchers are working capture the calibre of work under way in our higher education institutions. Their focus on turning ideas into commercialised products and services is meeting the challenge of the Innovation Taskforce Report which is rooted in the promise of human capital and our capacity to forge a future for tomorrow's workers. By investing on a sustained basis in pioneering work, the Government is demonstrating our determination to support the emerging talent pool of scientists and engineers and create the jobs of tomorrow.

Today’s Science Foundation Ireland awards are a very important contribution to our innovation ecosystem and a core component of the Government’s economic recovery project,"said O’Keeffe.

Science Foundation Ireland directly supports more than 3,200 researchers who are collaborating with almost 400 indigenous and multinational firms here.

Among the research fields targeted by today’s funding are energy, environmental protection, health, agriculture and telecommunications.

Intel, Sigma Aldich, Seagate, ESB and Eirgrid are among the partner companies involved in the research projects which will result in new products, services and jobs.

The Director General of Science Foundation Ireland, Professor Frank Gannon, said the Principal Investigator Programme has been the cornerstone of the agency’s work agenda.

"The track record shows that by selecting excellent researchers we can develop key partnerships with leading industries in Ireland, as well as producing high-quality publications and highly skilled workers.

That is the promise of the Government’s strategic investment in high-value research and human capital," said Professor Gannon.