Record €672m spent on research funding in 2021

Irish research institutes, including universities, institutes of technology and colleges, spent €672 million on research last year, the highest total spend since 2014.

A new report by Knowledge Transfer Ireland, the State-funded body that supports research commercialisation, also highlights that some 32 companies were spun out from Irish research bodies in 2021, slightly above the average figure for the past five years and marginally ahead of 2020 when 30 companies were formed.

All in, some 139 companies have spun off from Irish research institutes since 2017, KTI said.

A total of 143 spin-out companies in 2021 had been active for three or more years, employing more than 1,200 people. Five companies that began life as a spin-out were acquired in 2021 or had merged with another company, the report noted.

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Meanwhile, total research expenditure by research performing organisations in 2021 hit €675 million, the report stated, up 6 per cent on 2020.

Irish universities accounted for more than €500 million or three quarters of the total figure while institutes of technology spent €97 million and colleges and state research bodies spent €71 million.

In turn, research institutes generated €143 million from commercialised research last year, some 89 per cent of which came from research agreements. However, the number of patents filed in 2021 fell 28 per cent from 147 in 2020 to 106 in 2021, the lowest level in half a decade.

Imelda Lambkin, disruptive technology, innovation & knowledge transfer manager at Enterprise Ireland, sad the report showed the connection between publicly funded research bodies and enterprise is stronger than ever.

“We are seeing a continued geographical spread of activity from businesses engaging with the third level and other State-funded research organisations, and it’s heartening to see the level of investment these institutions are putting into cutting edge research which are shaping the ideas of tomorrow,” she said.