Ministers of State with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Robert Troy TD and Damien English TD have announced the successful projects under the government’s Regional Enterprise Transition Scheme (RETS) Feasibility Funding. The funding, totalling €548,250, will see 18 feasibility studies carried out in the coming months across a range of projects throughout the country.
Delivered for the government through Enterprise Ireland, the Feasibility Funding was launched in July as part of the €10 million Regional Enterprise Transition Scheme (RETS). The purpose of the funding is to support detailed evaluation of early-stage opportunities for new impactful regional enterprise development projects and the grants approved range from €20,000 to €50,000 per project.
Early last month, Ministers Troy and English announced further funding of €9.3 million for 24 projects under the RETS to assist regional projects affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and by other regional challenges following the UK’s departure from the EU.
Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Robert Troy TD said, “I want to congratulate the successful applicants from across the regions that have been approved funding under the Regional Enterprise Transition Scheme Feasibility Funding. This funding will support early-stage project development and aims to create a pipeline of future enterprise development projects across all regions originating in particular from the nine Regional Enterprise Plans.”
“The feasibility funding, along with the €9.3 million in funding I recently announced under the Regional Enterprise Transition Scheme which provided grant support for 24 enterprise development projects in the regions, will create a pipeline of projects for future regional funding calls and support the government’s ambition to strengthen the enterprise development capabilities of our regions.”
Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English TD said, “balanced regional development is a priority for me and Government. The feasibility funding announced today will provide assistance for early-stage project development and allow promoters to test their product concept and deliver virtual or site-based solutions to their target audience.”
“There is a huge appetite across Ireland to facilitate regional enterprise and grow job opportunities and I am delighted to see plans progressing for additional workspaces, remote hubs, clustering, and innovative supports for businesses across Ireland. This funding will improve the capability and competitiveness of regional enterprises and encourage entrepreneurial activity among our vibrant SME community.”
Mark Christal, Manager, Regions and Entrepreneurship with Enterprise Ireland said, “the funding allocated today will ensure we maintain a strong pipeline of regionally impactful enterprise projects into the future. It is important that we support early-stage projects in their development and planning as Irish enterprise addresses significant challenges, including assisting companies recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other issues such as digitalisation, emissions reductions, and our new trading relationship with the UK. Enterprise Ireland looks forward to working collaboratively with the projects allocated funding under this measure and seeing their potential come to fruition.”
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