Minister of State Business, Employment and Retail, Neale Richmond, was in Longford Local Enterprise Office (LEO) where he met with council officials, members of the LEO team and some of their client companies.
The Minister was greeted at the Longford LEO by Cathaoirleach, Cllr. Colm Murray of Longford County Council, Chief Executive, Paddy Mahon, Head of Enterprise, Michael Nevin and Director of Services, Barbara Heslin.
Minister Richmond said, “I was delighted to visit the Longford Local Enterprise Office and meet with the LEO team and some LEO clients. Meeting businesses across the country is one of the most rewarding aspects of my role and it is great to meet such dynamic companies doing great work here in Longford. Longford is a county with so much to offer and it is great to see the dedication the LEO team has to local businesses here and their commitment to the growth and success of their clients.”
Minister Richmond had the opportunity to meet the LEO Longford team members before meeting a selection of LEO Longford clients. The Minister met Robert Higgins and Patrick McGivney of Harp Media and was shown a clip of their award-winning film Lakelands. Established in 2018, Harp Media is a multi-discipline film production company which develops films and factual tv programming for general audiences, creative and corporate videos for brands and companies along with a number of training initiatives in all areas of film making.
The Minister then met Sheila Mullen, Peter and Michael Clancy, three siblings who established Lough Ree Distillery in 2017. The Old Post Office Building in Lanesboro is the home of the distillery and centre, a location that offers an historic building close to the Shannon. Lough Ree primarily produce whiskey but also gin and vodka.
Minister Richmond then spoke with Aaron O’Malley, founder of GreenQube, an environmentally friendly company producing green products for the cleaning industry in their production facility in Ballymahon. Working with an Italian patent holder, GreenQube has exclusive distribution and production rights for a range of products, including a swimming pool product that is both chlorine and bromine free.
The Minister was then introduced to Jenna Farrell of Scopey by video link. Scopey is a cloud-based project proposal and management solution aimed primarily at creative businesses in Ireland, UK and Australia, Scopey offers a software solution to help manage project proposals, quotes, scope management, client communications and invoicing. Established by Jenna Farrell, originally from New Zealand and now living in Longford with her family. Jenna ran her own digital design agency for 10 years in Australia prior to her move to Ireland.
After meeting with these impressive LEO Longford clients, the Minister enjoyed presentations from Cathaoirleach, Cllr. Colm Murray of Longford County Council, Chief Executive, Paddy Mahon and Head of Enterprise, Michael Nevin about the work being undertaken currently by the Longford LEO. The Minister then made an address to those in attendance to conclude the day.
On the conclusion of his visit, Minister Richmond said, “the impact of support provided by Local Enterprise Offices to businesses across the country cannot be underestimated. Mentorship, funding and training can be transformative to businesses across every sector, as I’ve seen here in Longford. The success of the LEO office here in Longford can be seen clearly through the success of their clients. Thanks to the LEO network, businesses across Ireland can rest assured that support is available to help them grow and create jobs now and into the future.”
