Ministers Heydon and Grealish announce new research awards and Irish participation in two new European research calls
- Published on: 3 February 2026
- Last updated on: 3 February 2026
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, and Minister of State with responsibility for Research and Innovation, Noel Grealish TD, have announced funding for three international research projects, as well as Irish participation in upcoming European research calls.
Research awards
Under the US-Ireland Research and Development Partnership 2024 Research Call, two projects with Irish research partners have been selected for funding. This will see an award of €349,500 to Dr. Anne Parle-McDermott at Dublin City University, for a project entitled ‘Environmental RNA-based Assessment of Fish Health (eRNA-Fish)’ and a similar award of €345,541to Dr Grace McCormack at the University of Galway for a project entitled, ‘Sustainable Ways to Advance Reproductive Management in Honey Bees (SWARM)’.
Marking the funding Minister Heydon said:
“The announcement of funding for these research projects shows the diverse range of areas that my Department supports as part of the public research ecosystem. I am particularly impressed at the international collaborations being forged, which will be built on through our participation in new European research calls in the areas of animal health and welfare and diets and nutrition.”
Commenting on the announcement, Minister Grealish said:
“The US-Ireland Research and Development Partnership in agriculture is an important vehicle for facilitating research collaboration between Ireland, Northern Ireland and the US. I want to commend the two successful projects that have secured funding from the 2024 research call in the areas of fish health and biodiversity.”
Meanwhile, one project with an Irish partner has been awarded funding from a call run by the European Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare (EUPAH&W). This will see €142,000 awarded to Dr Siobhan Mullanin of University College Dublin for a project titled, ‘HoliWell: Towards a Holistic Assessment of Animal Welfare using Emotion and Deep Learning’.
Irish participation in new European research calls
Minister Grealish also took the opportunity to highlight Irish support for two new European research calls:
“I am delighted that my Department is extending financial support to enable Irish researchers to apply to two upcoming European research calls. This will be the second call under the European Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare and the Knowledge Hub research call from the Healthy Diet Healthy Life (HDHL) EU Research Initiative related to food processing and human health. I would encourage researchers to consider both opportunities.”
Concluding, the Minister said
“Irelands engagement in European and international research helps build our national capacity and leverage international expertise and funding, while generating scientific evidence to inform development and support implementation of national strategies such as Food Vision 2030 and the forthcoming Animal Welfare Strategy 2026–2030.”
Notes
US-Ireland Research and Development Partnership
The US-Ireland Research and Development Partnership is a tri-jurisdictional alliance between Ireland, Northern Ireland and the United States which was officially launched in 2006. Its aim is to promote collaborative innovative research projects which create value above and beyond individual efforts.
The following partner agencies provide research funding in the agriculture thematic area:
- In the United States (US), the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), within the US Department of Agriculture
- In Ireland, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM)
- In Northern Ireland (NI), the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).
More information can be found here: Research - International Research
European Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare (EUPAH&W)
This is a co-funded partnership under Horizon Europe. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will be participating in the second call under the partnership which is titled, ‘Shaping the Future of Animal Health and Welfare’.
The Department will provide financial support for successful projects that have Irish research involvement under the following themes:
- Topic 1: Animal Welfare across the production cycle – including on-farm, during transport and at slaughter.
- Topic 2: Prevention and Control – innovative vaccines, therapeutics and resilience-building approaches.
The call launched on 26 January 2026, with further details on eligibility and national funding conditions being made available at call launch on the Partnerships website EUPAHW - Home and here: Research - Open Calls
Healthy Diet Healthy Life - Food processing and human health call
The Department is participating in the Knowledge Hub research call of the Healthy Diet Healthy Life (HDHL) EU Research Initiative entitled, ‘Establishing the link between food processing, human health, and sustainable food systems’. This Call is now open and follows a two-step procedure that includes an Expression of Interest (EoI) submission step followed by the full proposal submission.
The deadline for Expression of Interest submission: 5 February 2026, 14:00 CET
The deadline for the submission of full proposals: 21 May 2026, 14:00 CEST
More information can be found here: Research - Open Calls