Industry & Business

Over €40 Million For 26 Projects to Drive Job Creation in the Regions

Over €40 Million For 26 Projects to Drive Job Creation in the Regions

Over €40 Million For 26 Projects to Drive Job Creation in the Regions
January 09
10:41 2020

The Government has announced the results of the third call of the Regional Enterprise Development Fund (REDF), an open national competitive call to support regional projects that drive sustainable job creation in the regions. 26 successful applicants representing all regions of the country have been approved for funding of over €40 million for their collaborative projects and the announcement brings the total amount awarded under the Fund to almost €100 million to date.

The fund is an initiative of the Government under Project Ireland 2040 and it aligns with the Future Jobs Ireland framework. It is administered for the Government by Enterprise Ireland.

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation Heather Humphreys TD said: “The Irish economy has had a remarkable turnaround in recent years but we cannot rest on our laurels. Although we have made a lot of progress with six out of 10 jobs created outside Dublin since 2016, 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.”

The REDF was introduced in 2017, to co-finance the development and implementation of collaborative and innovative enterprise projects that can make a significant impact on enterprise development in the regions in order to help sustain and add to employment at county, regional and national level.

Minister Humphreys also welcomed the IDA annual results, specifically with regard to developments in the regions. The results show that we now have FDI jobs located outside Dublin than ever before. 110 investments were won for regions in 2019. Overall, 33,118 net jobs have been created in the regions since the start of the IDA’s five-year strategy in 2014. Figures show that the Mid West, Mid East and South East exceeded targets, and investments in the Border region increased threefold during the five-year period.

The positive news follows the announcement yesterday that two-thirds of the almost 17,000 new jobs created by Enterprise Ireland-supported companies in 2019 are outside Dublin, with 65% of total employment in the regions. The companies involved also make a significant contribution to the local economy by sourcing over two-thirds of their materials and services from other Irish firms.

The Minister continued: “This strong regional performance is important because we cannot reach our full potential as a country without successful regions. That’s why I have prioritised supporting regional enterprise as Minister through initiatives like the Regional Enterprise Development Fund. The Fund is making a real difference on the ground, so I look forward to seeing these 26 exciting projects translate into jobs and prosperity.”

Under the third call of the REDF, applications were invited to submit proposals under three Streams:

* Strategic Change Projects – grant funding of €500k up to €5m;

* Regional Strengthening Projects – grant funding of €100k up to €500k; and

* Enterprise Clustering Projects – grant funding of €50k up to €350k.

The successful projects were selected through a rigorous multi-stage evaluation process managed by Enterprise Ireland, based on criteria which included: impacts and value for money; collaboration and participation; viability and sustainability; building regional strengths; and significance for innovation.

Julie Sinnamon, CEO of Enterprise Ireland, said “The Regional Enterprise Development Fund (REDF) is a key mechanism to support balanced regional development and an effective enterprise ecosystem. The fund plays an important role in building greater innovation capabilities in businesses across the regions. It also enhances collaboration between companies and key players in the regional enterprise ecosystem.  I look forward to seeing the 26 successful projects announced today being brought to fruition.”

CAPTION:

Minister Heather Humphreys pictured with Enterprise Ireland Chairperson, Terence O’Rourke and Regional Manager at Enterprise Ireland, Mark Christal.

The 26 projects approved and announced are as follows:

Region

Projects approved award

Project Description

Region/County

Grant Approved

 

North East

DkIT Connect DAC

Connected Health & Wellbeing Innovation and Learning Hub

Louth

€3,774,337

Monaghan County Enterprise Fund

Digital Hub and Co-working space

Monaghan

€577,960

Creative Spark CLG

Enterprise ‘FabLab’

Louth

€500,000

Sub-total

€4,852,297

North West

The Leitrim Design House CLG

 

Leitrim

€371,600

Sub-total

€371,600

Midlands

Portlaoise Innovation Centre DAC

Enterprise Incubation Hub – Low Carbon focus

Laois

€2,050,560

Premier Lakelands Food Hub

Food Hub

Longford

€1,358,000

Sub-total

€3,408,560

West

Comhoibriú CLG

Incubation and Co-working space

Galway

€2,694,833

Galway City Innovation District (GCID)

Enterprise Hub/Portershed

Galway

€1,205,833

Galway Technology Centre DAC

Enterprise Hub

Galway

€4,023,400

SCCUL Enterprises CLG

Enterprise Hub

Galway

€1,239,408

Grow Remote CLG

Remote work activation

Galway

€449,442

Sub-total

€9,612,916

Mid-West

Future Mobility Campus Ireland CLG

Connected Autonomous Vehicles test-bed

Clare

€4,723,197

Tipperary Innovation Engine (Company Limited by Guarantee)

Enterprise Hub

Tipperary

€500,000

Emerald Aerospace Group

Enterprise Cluster

Limerick

€350,560

Sub-total

€5,573,757

South-West

Firies Business Hub DAC

Food Hub expansion

Kerry

€1,151,960

Seirbhísí Forbartha Gnó (SFG) DAC

Enterprise Hub

Cork

€2,700,000

SynBioHub DAC

Enterprise Bio-Hub

Cork

€3,063,000

Benchspace Cork CLG

Creative Hub

Cork

€342,256

KerrySciTech

Enterprise Cluster

Kerry

€120,000

Sub-total

€7,377,216

South-East

South East Economic Development Company Limited

Lean Industry 4.0 facility

Waterford

€1,342,751

The Tradebridge Collaboration DAC

Enterprise Cluster focused on export sales

Wexford

€247,827

National Design Innovation Hub

Rural entrepreneurship project

Carlow, Laois

396,800

Sub-total

€1,987,378

Mid-East

Clermont Enterprise Hub CLG

Content creation enterprise hub

Wicklow

€1,434,000

UCD Nova DAC

Ag tech Innovation Hub

Kildare

€3,002,441

National Association of Community Enterprise Centres CLG (NACEC)

Enterprise centre collaboration and networking

Meath

€369,600

Sub-total

€4,806,041

Dublin

LINC Collaboratory DAC

Cyber Security/Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence technology centre

Dublin

€2,149,940

Sub-total

€2,149,940

Overall total amount approved

€40,139,705

Note: DAC – Designated Activity Company

About Author

mike

mike

Related Articles

New Subscriber

[contact-form-7 id=”65829″ title=”Subscriber”]

Advertisements





















National Manufacturing Conference & Exhibition 2018

NIBRT Springboard Success Stories



Upcoming Events

[eventlist]