Biobanking is the storage of surplus tissue samples donated by patients for research.
The Health Research Board has said it is committed to assisting with the rollout of a national biobank network covering all illnesses here.
Earlier, Irish scientists warned that plans for a national network of storage facilities for tissue and blood samples used for cancer research are in jeopardy because of a failure by the Government to deliver promised investment.
The Biobank Ireland Trust has said €1m in State and private funding is required to progress plans for a national biobank network, without which cancer research is being held back.
The Board, which provides Government funding to health related research projects, says it accepts that Ireland is somewhat behind the curve when it comes to developing a biobank network, but it is catching up.
It says it is already investing heavily in a range of biobanking projects around the country, and that it recognises the need for a joined up network.
The Board is currently part of an international effort to agree biobanking standards by 2017, and is going to send experts to bring that knowledge back here.
It says it aims to provide seed funding to agencies to help them connect to the infrastructure, and also intends making biobanking a cost eligible for funding in future research grants, provided standards are met.
However, it has warned that setting up such a network is a gradual process which will take time, so that value for money can be assured for the taxpayer.
Biobanked samples are linked to coded patient data held in a searchable database accessible by scientists.
Biobanks are particularly useful for cancer researchers, because freezing tissue and blood samples preserves genes and proteins that control how cancer grows.
Fully developed national biobanks have proven valuable resources in other countries.
But they have only been developed by a small number of individual hospitals in Ireland, with a limited amount of national coordination.
The first web-based searchable Irish biobank cancer database was announced today by the Biobank Ireland Trust.
But those behind it said without promised Government investment, the viability of a full scale national cancer biobank research facility will be in jeopardy.
They said €1m is needed from the State and private sources to secure the project and successful ground-breaking cancer research into the future.
Medical Director of Biobank Ireland Trust Professor Eoin Gaffney said: "A dedicated biobank cancer database will make the most of Ireland's resources for patient-focused cancer research by linking Ireland's biggest hospitals in a Biobank network.
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