The current policy of the Irish Research Council is that in order to be considered an eligible higher education institution for the purpose of applying to our funding programmes (at postgraduate, postdoctoral and principal investigator level) an institution must be:

1. A third-level institution within the meaning of Section 53 of the Higher Education Authority Act, 2022 and/or in receipt of public funding as approved by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for the purposes of the Free Fees Initiative.
2. In receipt of public funding from the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for the purpose of higher education and research.
3. In compliance with the HEA Statement on Athena SWAN Charter in Ireland (July 2019).

These institutions are:

• Atlantic Technological University
• Dublin City University
• Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies
• Dublin Dental Hospital
• Dundalk Institute of Technology
• Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology
• Marino Institute of Education
• Mary Immaculate College
• Maynooth University
• Munster Technological University
• National College of Art and Design
• National College of Ireland
• RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences
• Royal Irish Academy
• Royal Irish Academy of Music
• South East Technological University
• Technological University Dublin
• Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest
• Trinity College Dublin
• University College Cork
• University College Dublin
• University of Galway
• University of Limerick

In recognition of the contribution of publicly funded research performers to Ireland’s research base, the research-performing organisations (RPOs) which are eligible to apply to the Irish Research Council’s postdoctoral and principal investigator-led funding programmes are:

• Economic & Social Research Institute
• Marine Institute
• Teagasc
• The Discovery Programme