EPA Research Programme’s COVID-19 statement

The EPA is fully aware that the current situation regarding the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is having a significant impact on the research community, both in Ireland and internationally. This page provides the EPA Research programme’s COVID-19 statement. We anticipate that the precise nature of these impacts may evolve over the coming weeks and months, and we note that projects may be unavoidably delayed as a result of practical measures taken to contain the virus.

Our priority is the safety and wellbeing of people – researchers, research participants, and those who support them, including our own Research team.

• All EPA / EPA contract project managers will be working remotely during the current COVID-19 crisis and remain available to deal with any project management issues that may arise. 
• Steering Committee meetings will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. 

On an ongoing basis, we are working to understand the nature of any impacts on our funded projects and to facilitate any appropriate measures that may prove necessary. The EPA will give consideration on a case-by-case basis to the following: 

• Budget reallocations arising from travel/other restrictions. 
• No-cost time extensions. 
• Restructuring of project deliverables and timelines, where direct adverse impact has occurred. 

At this stage, the EPA is not considering cost extensions for any of our funded projects in the context of COVID-19 – this position may be reviewed and changed should a national agreement in relation to this issue be put in place. 

research@epa.ie remains open for any queries during this period. 

Researchers funded by the EPA should continue to monitor the Agency’s website for any further developments. Where the same issues recur, we will publish Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on our website.