Ministers Muir and McConalogue launch €9 million Shared Island funding call

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) Minister, Andrew Muir MLA, and the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM) Minister, Charlie McConalogue T.D, announced the allocation of €7 million from the Irish Government’s Shared Island Initiative, with co-funding of £1.5 million from DAFM, and £0.5 million from DAERA.

As cross border collaboration is a key requirement for applicants under this funding opportunity, InterTrade Ireland is supporting both Departments to aid applicants with their partner search through offering an online partnering platform and supporting the hosting of in-person networking events.

The scheme will support the integration of bioeconomy innovation and solutions in the agriculture and marine sectors across both jurisdictions on the island of Ireland.

The ‘Shared Island Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiative’ will pilot and demonstrate the bioeconomy in action across the island of Ireland, as a key objective of the Ireland’s Bioeconomy Action Plan 2023-2025 as well as aligning with the DAERA Innovation strategy key priority theme of Transformative Bioeconomy.

The bioeconomy encompasses sectors that conserve, use, process, distribute or consume biological resources from land and sea including agriculture, horticulture, forestry, food processing, construction, packaging, chemicals and organic waste sectors and land and marine ecosystems.

The Shared Island Bioeconomy Demonstration Initiative will advance sustainable opportunities on an all-island basis from biomass produced from both land and marine areas through the development of innovative, higher added value biobased products and solutions, with clear climate and environmental benefits.

DAERA Minister Muir, said: “I am pleased to welcome the opening of this call, which provides a great opportunity for innovators to cooperate with the aim of providing concrete and demonstrated examples of biobased innovation to help drive economic, environmental, and social benefits as well as support climate change mitigation and adaption.

“This initiative will provide an excellent opportunity to foster innovative collaborations which will be crucial in delivering climate action and supporting a greener economy through biobased solutions,” Minister Muir concluded.

Minister McConalogue stated: “The bioeconomy has significant potential to improve the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of the agri-food and marine sector by offering diversification opportunities, new bio-based business products and value chains, while reducing the use of fossil-based inputs.

“This new Shared Island initiative provides significant funding for primary producers, businesses, and innovators to work together to demonstrate new scalable, commercial bioeconomy solutions for the agri-food and marine sectors across the island of Ireland.”

Minister McConalogue continued: “A key action in Ireland’s Bioeconomy Action Plan 2023-2025 is the development of pilot demonstration facilities so that we can move the wide range of opportunities developed through research and innovation into real world settings.

“This €9 million programme resourced through the Shared Island Initiative, my own department and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Northern Ireland will be a crucial element in delivering on this and I encourage all stakeholders to consider the Call being opened today,” he added.