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By Emma Loughney, Communications Officer, UCD Research

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced new funding for environmental and climate research in Ireland, with €14.5 million awarded for 25 new research projects.

These innovative, policy-relevant projects will address key knowledge gaps and support the development of vital research capacity in strategically important areas.

Announcing the funding awards, Laura Burke, EPA Director General said: “Our latest EPA State of the Environment Report highlights the scale of challenges facing Ireland and the need for determined action across climate, sustainable consumption, biodiversity and pollution goals. This new EPA funding will help to build the vital research talent and knowledge needed in Ireland to respond to these challenges and achieve a healthier environment. I congratulate the successful research teams and look forward to seeing the positive impacts these projects will have on environmental protection in the years ahead.”

The UCD projects are: 

Dr Enrico Secchi, Dr Donna Marshall and Dr Colm McLoughlin, UCD College of Business - JUSt Transition in Ireland’s Circular Economy: Scaling and Supporting Irish Food and Fashion Resource Recovery.

Dr Alison Connolly, UCD School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, UCD Centre for Safety and Health at Work - Human Biomonitoring for Ireland (HBM4IE) environmental chemical exposure study.

Dr Grace Cott, UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science - Solutions for Optimum restoration of Saltmarshes. 

See the full list of funded projects on the EPA website.

The latest EPA funding is significant in terms of further building the environmental research capacity in Ireland. It will support almost 200 research staff across 10 organisations, including funding for approximately 50 PhD and postgraduate students. Crucially, the EPA will provide hands-on support and training to the researchers to facilitate the uptake of the research outputs by policy makers and other users. Reflecting the importance of collaboration in addressing climate and environmental challenges, the EPA is working in partnership with Met Éireann and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to co-fund a number of the projects.

The list of Funding Awards made under the EPA Research Call 2024 is available with full project details in the EPA’s online Research Database. The EPA Research Programme is a Government of Ireland initiative funded by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. The EPA Research Call 2025 will open for applications in April 2025. Details will be made available on the EPA website.