SMEs have been encouraged to apply for millions of euro of funding from the Horizon 2020 SME fund.
Companies can receive €50,000 in funding under phase 1 and from €500,000 to €2.5 million under phase 2 of the Horizon 2020 SME funding.
"Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represent over 99% of businesses in the EU so it is crucial to support their growth and innovation," said Deirdre Clune, MEP.
"However, one of the most important issues facing SMEs is their difficulty accessing finance. Ireland has been particularly successful at accessing funding from Europe for our small and medium-sized business sector.
In total, 50 Irish SME companies have been awarded Horizon 2020 SME Phase 1 funding since its launch in 2014.
"That’s an incredible achievement and is driving innovation and jobs growth in regional parts of Ireland. Horizon 2020 funding from Europe is specifically for research and innovation and encourages our SME companies to innovate and develop new ideas and technologies," said Clune.
The funding is running until 2020 with a total budget of €75 billion, Ireland has set a national target of securing €1.25 billion in EU Horizon 2020 funding.
To date, Ireland has secured funding of €424 million, representing 1.66% of the total EU budget committed.
