Tánaiste announces €7 million investment in new National Institute for Networking and Electronics Research

“Investment in innovation and technology key to sustained growth” - Harney

The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, Mary Harney, today (Tuesday 27 July 2004) announced the establishment of a major new national research institute to conduct work in the areas of electronics, photonics and networking technologies.

The new National Institute for Networking and Electronics Research, developed as a partnership between the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment, SFI and UCC, will be located at the existing Lee Maltings campus, close to the main UCC Campus. The Board of the new Institute will be will be chaired by Dr Alastair Glass, of SFI.

The Tánaiste made the announcement at an International Conference on Emerging Technologies in Optical Systems (ETOS) at the Department of Physics in UCC.

She said: “Technology and scientific understanding are changing our world faster than ever before. New developments in areas such as ICTs, Biotechnology are unleashing new waves of innovation and creating endless opportunities for businesses to gain competitive advantage. Applications of nanotechnology are emerging which will impact on the life of every citizen. Ireland has been developing a strong capability in the photonics, which already forms the underlying technology in a number of global industries such as data storage and telecommunications.”

She continued: “The exploitation of these and other technologies is a key driver in the internationalisation of Irish business. Investment in the application of innovation and technology to the development of new products, services and processes will be the key to generating continued and sustained economic growth for Ireland.”

“However technology does not stand still and we increasingly need to achieve critical mass in our research efforts. That is why, my Department, UCC and SFI have been working together on this exciting new project to capitalise on the existing work at UCC and grow it further. The new Institute will have its own legal status as a subsidiary of UCC. It will have its own chief officer and a board of directors which will reflect the role of the partners involved in developing the initiative. In particular, I am keen that the board should have strong business and scientific expertise,” the Tánaiste added.

“The institute will have a truly national character. To underscore this, I am providing an initial allocation of seven million euro to begin the infrastructural development work and to open up the institute’s facilities to researchers throughout Ireland. Core funding for the institute, based on performance and competitive excellence will be provided through SFI,” she said

The Tánaiste confirmed that she will shortly be finalising the composition of the board of the Institute which will be chaired by Dr Alastair Glass, currently of SFI.

“Working with Dr Bill Harris, Chief Executive of Science Foundation, Dr Glass has been hugely instrumental in developing our ICT base. His high level research and industrial contacts have played a significant part in securing key investments, as exemplified by the recent Bell Labs project,” the Tánaiste said.

“The vision for Ireland to be achieved by 2015 is of an economy and society where a significant proportion of enterprise has become technology-based and where higher standards of living are being enjoyed by ever increasing numbers of people.”

“Key to achieving that vision is the provision of a vibrant research environment where attractive employment opportunities exist for researchers in science, engineering and other disciplines within a society that is cognisant of the economic and social benefits of scientific and technological development.”

Today’s announcement is another important building block in the construction of that edifice,” the Tánaiste concluded.

ENDS

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