The Irish government expects to lure venture capital (VC) firms to its shores with a €500 ($693) million fund to boost investment in local startups. Innovation Fund Ireland will focus on biotech, information technology, medical devices and cleantech. The exchequer and Ireland's National Pension Reserve Fund will contribute €250 ($346) million to the fund and interested VC firms are expected to match those contributions. “The Fund is being established to act as a catalyst for an increase in the availability of risk capital for startup and scaling companies,” says Garret Murray from Enterprise Ireland, who manages the fund. Dirk Carrez, director for industrial biotech at the European Association for Bioindustries in Brussels, sees advantages in such local initiatives. “National initiatives can be better adapted to regional context and specificities,” he explains. They can also be set up much faster than European programs, and “improving access to finance is an urgent problem to be solved for European biotech small and medium-sized enterprises,” he adds. The initiative comes on the heels of an announcement in July that a €4.7 ($6.5) billion Global Pharmaceutical Centre of Excellence (GPCE) is proposed for Tralee, Kerry, Ireland. But funding for the project, promoted by Cork-based generics manufacturer Pharmadel, may be undermined by Ireland's 30 September 'Black Thursday', when the Irish deficit hit 32% of gross domestic product.