€40m has been allocated to 26 projects nationally from the Regional Enterprise Development Fund. Ten of the projects, with a total value of more than €16m, are based along The Atlantic Economic Corridor. The Western Development Commission is supporting a number of these projects including Grow Remote, Comhoibriú and Future Mobility Campus Ireland.
As a national initiative Grow Remote has become a focal point for Remote Work in Ireland, fostering a pipeline of remote jobs, and making them both visible and accessible to communities who need them. Today’s announcement of funding will continue to build on the success of the Atlantic Economic Corridor, stretching from Donegal to Kerry, which is a flagship project for the WDC and as set out in Ireland 2040.
Combhoibriú will focus on the Digital Creative Sector through the development of a regional Centre of Excellence in Galway (GMIT) providing co-working space, incubation and accelerator programmes, training and outreach services. This will increase enterprise development and job growth in the Creative Economy in the West of Ireland. The WDC along with GMIT, Údarás na Gaeltachta and TG4 will support the recruitment of a Project Manager.
Future Mobility Campus Ireland is a €4.7m national project to develop a test bed for connected and autonomous vehicles which will be based in Shannon, Co. Clare. This facility will enable companies to add value to their businesses by testing new technologies. This builds on the existing expertise in sensor mobility in the region and is closely aligned with the long term strategy of the Western Development Commission to build a global competitive advantage in a hi-tech niche.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Tomás Ó Síocháin, CEO of the WDC said “These ambitious projects acknowledge the existing expertise within the region and the appetite to build a common platform for future innovation. The Creative Economy through Comhoibriú has an unparalleled capacity to fire the public imagination and bring together industry and community, building on more than ten years of development work by the WDC. GrowRemote and the scope to work remotely has the potential to change the way in which people live and work in rural and regional areas and Future Mobility Campus Ireland acknowledges the regional strengths in sensors and mobility and the ambition to build on that knowledge to bring bold new ideas to life. In doing so, it is a concrete commitment to regional rebalancing as Ireland 2040 takes shape.”
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 made the announcement this morning that 26 successful applicants representing all regions of the country have been approved for funding of over €40 million.
