Do you have an idea you’ve been sitting on for years?

Cork City Council is looking for a solution that will decrease the incidence and reoccurrence of graffiti tagging in Cork City – and they’re offering a €70,000 fund to help the winning entrant to develop it.

Together with the Cork Smart Gateway initiative, the Council has launched the Small Business Research and Innovation (SBIR) Challenge with Enterprise Ireland to find out if there’s a way to reduce the time and cost associated with removing graffiti from all types of building surfaces.

The SBIR challenge is open for applications from 12 noon on April 4th, 2018 until June 1st, 2018. Successful applicants will be selected by an open competition process run in two phases.

The competition is open to any organisation, university and service provider.

“The impact of graffiti has negative effects not only for homeowners and businesses in the affected areas but also for tourists and visitors to the city.” said Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr. Tony Fitzgerald.

“The cleanliness of the public realm is a key factor in how safe a tourist or a citizen feels exploring the city and also plays a role in determining their enjoyment of the city.”

Interestingly, the majority of Yay Cork readers who answered a poll on the subject said public graffiti didn’t bother them.

Cork City Council is offering €70k for a solution to stop graffiti. Does #Cork‘s graffiti bother you?

— Yay Cork (@yaycork) April 3, 2018