8 October 2019
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Success for Co. Cork under the Local Enterprise Office Competitive Fund
The South West Food Experience Project has been granted €80,000 funding in what is a good result for enterprise and job creation in Co. Cork, Cllr. John Paul O’Shea, Fine Gael Cork North West General Election Candidate has said.
File photo of Cllr. John Paul O’Shea, during his term as Mayor of the County of Cork. O’Shea is now an ordinary Cllr, but is hopeful of becoming a TD now that he is a member of Fine Gael Picture: Martin Walsh.
O’Shea was speaking after the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation Heather Humphreys TD announced the results of the new €2.5 million Local Enterprise Office (LEO) Competitive Fund.
Sixteen projects are benefiting under the fund which delivers projects aligned with the Regional Enterprise Plans and the whole-of-Government strategy, Future Jobs Ireland.
“This is a fantastic project in Co. Cork working on targeting the support for the food sector. €80,000 has been approved under the LEO Competitive Fund for this project which will be rolled through by the Local Enterprise Office. It will reach out to small businesses and entrepreneurs across the county, even in the most rural areas.
“Applications were open to individual LEOs; collaborative projects between two or more LEOs; and LEOs working with other local groups like Chambers, Community Enterprise Centres, Education or Training bodies, Local Authorities or colleges.
“It is really positive to see the Local Enterprise Offices working together in this way to further develop enterprise activity across county lines. This is good news for job creation right across the country”, O’Shea concluded.
All projects are aligned with the strategic objectives in the Regional Enterprise Plans and the ambitions in Future Jobs Ireland, the Government’s strategy to drive Ireland’s development as a resilient, innovative, and globally connected economy, capable of coping with technological and other transformational changes ahead. Minister Humphreys launched the 9 Regional Enterprise Plans earlier this year. They were developed from the ground up with regional stakeholders working together to build on the strengths of their shared regions and address any vulnerabilities.
Minister Heather Humphreys, in welcoming this particular policy focus, said: “There is a wonderful array of projects in the winning sixteen and they are spread right across the country. I am particularly pleased to see projects in areas like digital technologies; green and environmental activities; e-commerce; and e-hubs and remote working. This is proof that our LEOs are looking to the future, and tackling the challenges of tomorrow, today.”