Ministers English and Troy Announced Regional Enterprise Funding

Ministers of State with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Robert Troy T.D. and Damien English T.D., announced government funding of up to €17 million for regional enterprise projects.

€12 million is being made available to address construction inflation costs and support the completion of existing regionally funded projects under the Regional Enterprise Development and Border Enterprise Development Funds. Up to €6 million will be made available this year with a further €6 million after 2022.

Regional Enterprise Funding plans

The initial funding of €6 million will be made available by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment through Enterprise Ireland, who will contact existing regional and community based REDF/BEDF projects and advise of the new fund.

Further funding of up to €5 million is being made available to support detailed feasibility studies and for priming project applications in order to develop strong regional enterprise proposals identified through the Regional Enterprise Plans to 2024.

Carol Gibbons, Divisional Manager, Regions & Local Enterprise, Enterprise Ireland, said that “Enterprise Ireland welcomes the support of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in securing this additional €12m funding to help approved REDF & BEDF projects impacted by Covid 19 and Construction inflation to address funding shortfalls.”

She added: “We also warmly welcome the provision of the up to €5m in funding to allow the launch of a Competitive Call for Feasibility and Priming projects. The Scheme will provide early-stage financial assistance to drive significant projects which can define and scope their potential and/or can prime them to deliver regional impact. These projects aligned to individual Regional Enterprise Plans 2024, will improve the resilience and international competitiveness of enterprises across all regions.”

Ministers English and Troy

“I am pleased to announce this funding of €12 million which will ensure that important local projects already underway can now be completed as originally approved. The effects of Covid has increased the project costs in many cases but the pandemic has also shown how valuable these projects are to the regions when it comes to maximising enterprise development opportunities,” said Damien English TD, Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail.

“Separately, as we look forward to implementation of the new Regional Enterprise Plans to 2024, I welcome the €5m feasibility and priming fund which will help regional stakeholders to map out in great detail the effectiveness and potential benefits of their various proposals.”

“These strategic funds are about supporting projects with regional impact in order to increase opportunities both at home and abroad and to enable sustainable job creation right across the country. The funding underlines the fact that the Government is fully focussed on enabling and supporting innovation and entrepreneurship in every region in Ireland,” said English.

Welcoming the Regional Enterprise funding, Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Robert Troy TD, said that, “this Government is committed to fostering and delivering balanced regional development. The €12 million funding we are announcing today will help complete those projects which have incurred increased construction costs arising from Covid-19.

“I have been a strong advocate for the need to provide new funding to drive implementation of the Regional Enterprise Plans to 2024. In that context, I particularly welcome the €5m feasibility and priming fund that will deliver a pipeline of thoroughly developed proposals that may benefit from increased funding later this year.

“Throughout February and March, the Tánaiste, Minister English and I have been launching the new Regional Enterprise Plans, and also have had the pleasure of visiting projects that have benefitted from funding. The new Plans aim to identify growth opportunities and strengthen the regional enterprise ecosystem to enable job creation across the regions. Regional enterprise funding helps unlock the local potential as identified in the Plans, and through continued collaboration between the public and private sectors will have a hugely positive impact in all regions.”