A project located on the Shannon Estuary that will re-purpose an existing site to provide specialist infrastructure and accommodation, making the facility available for maritime and cruise liner related training as well as a test bed for renewable technologies receives €1,759,226 in funding.
Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation Heather Humphreys TD last week announced the results of the second round of the Regional Enterprise Development Fund, an open national competitive call to support regional projects, delivered for the Government through Enterprise Ireland.
Twenty-one successful applicants representing all regions of the country have secured just over €29m for their projects in the second call for proposals under the competitive Fund. Initially allocated €60m for two rounds of funding, the Fund will now operate on a rolling basis as part of Project Ireland 2040.
Announcing the successful applicants of the second round at a special event in the Meath Enterprise Centre in Navan, Minister Humphreys said: “The Irish economy has had a remarkable turnaround in recent years, but we cannot become complacent. Although we have made a lot of progress with three out of five jobs created outside Dublin since we launched the Regional Action Plan for Jobs, some parts of the country are not recovering as quickly as others.
“The Regional Enterprise Development Fund is about supporting every region to build on its unique strengths and ultimately create sustainable jobs. Collaboration is at its core – among the public and private sectors, within and across regions."
“The projects we are funding today are at the cutting edge of innovation. I am confident that they have the potential to make a real and lasting impact on enterprise development at both regional and national level.”
Twenty-one successful applicants are approved the offer of funding totaling just over €29 million. The winners were selected through a rigorous evaluation process based on criteria which included impacts and value for money, collaboration and participation, viability and sustainability, building regional strengths and significance for innovation.
Successful projects include:
• The Boyne Valley Food Innovation District DAC, Meath - €1,580,640
• Bioconnect Innovation Centre CLG, Monaghan - €4,976,880
• Galway City Innovation District CLG - €2,487,400
• Innovate Limerick T/A Hospital Foods DAC - €2,279,073
• Ludgate Operations CLG, Cork - €1,990,392
• National Design Innovation Hub DAC Carlow/Kilkenny - €1,843,320
• Clare MEZ (Maritime Economic Zone) DAC - €1,759,226
Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection Pat Breen TD said: “I very much welcome Minister Humphreys’s announcement and want to commend all those who have participated in the competitive process. Through this funding, the Government is following through on our commitment to support the ambition, goals and implementation of the Regional Action Plan for Jobs and I look forward to seeing these projects have a big impact around the country.”
Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development John Halligan TD said: “I want to congratulate all those groups that have been approved for funding today and am very pleased that the Regional Enterprise Development Fund is getting behind projects that are emerging from the ground up. In my own region of the South East, a strengthening collaborative mindset is leading to strong initiatives that have today attracted more than €2.8 million in Government investment.”
Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland said: “Supporting enterprises to build scale and expand reach is a key focus of Enterprise Ireland and the Regional Enterprise Development Fund helps us to further drive growth in key sectors in counties across the country, particularly in the context of Brexit. This second call which was launched in May attracted very strong interest, receiving a total of 77 applications. The successful applicants represent a broad range of projects across a variety of sectors including food, agri-tech and lifesciences. Our aim is to build on a strong regional ecosystem to include a variety of companies and sectoral clusters with best in class physical and digital infrastructure and appropriate research and technology capability.
Details of the Regional Enterprise Development Fund are on Enterprise Ireland’s website www.enterprise-ireland.com/REDF