The Irish Environmental Protection Agency is an independent public body established in 1992 to protect and improve the natural environment for present and future generations, taking into account the environmental, social and economic principles of sustainable development.

Key functions include environmental licensing, enforcement of environmental law and monitoring/analysing/ reporting on Ireland’s environment. The Irish EPA funds research and development activities through its STRIVE Programme which supports work in three strategic areas:

§         Supporting green innovation - assisting national efforts in developing the smart economy by sharing and embedding the EPA’s environmental expertise with groups leading innovation in this area

§         Informing policy development and implementation - generating new knowledge to underpin national responses to environmental challenges and drivers including Climate Change, Water Quality and Waste Management

§         Developing research capacity - developing Ireland’s research and development (R&D) capabilities to support future environmental policy development and green-enterprise activities

Principal thematic areas for Irish EPA R&D funding are: Air Quality, Atmospheric Deposition and Noise; Sectoral impacts on Biodiversity; Climate Change; Soils and Land-use; Socio-Economics; Waste, Resource Management and Chemicals; Water Quality and the Aquatic Environment.

Further information can be found on the research page of the Irish EPA.

The Irish EPA is the joint call management objective leader.