Health Innovation Hub lands €5m in funding

The National Health Innovation Hub in Cork was formally announced in August 2014. According to the Department of Jobs it has cultivated "a number of innovative healthcare products and services" since it was set up on a pilot basis in 2012 based in University College Cork.

The Health Innovation Hub had been funded as a pilot project and following evaluation of the pilot, the Government decided to scale the project up to the national level with direct financial support being provided by Enterprise Ireland and in-kind support being provided by the Health Service Executive including dedicated staff.

Following a competitive process a consortium led by University College Cork, with partners including Cork Institute of Technology, Trinity College Dublin and the National University of Ireland Galway, was appointed to host Health Innovation Hub Ireland.

A new Hub Director will now be appointed, who will guide the Hub through the next five years. The first call for proposals will be made later this year. A Stakeholder Advisory Group will also be set up to act as a forum between suppliers and users.

Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton and Minister for Health Leo Varadkar have announced that the €5m in funding will be spread out over five years.

The department of Jobs said that the initiative will allow "innovative Irish healthcare companies to easily access the health service to test their products and services.

It added that the Hub has already supported 23 projects involving 27 companies.