Enterprise Ireland
Annual Report and Accounts 2007

5. Driving regional enterprise (continued)

• Homepage
• Chairman’s statement
• Chief Executive Officer’s report

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• Section 1
  Achieving export sales
• Section 2
  Industry-led research and innovation
• Section 3
  World class productivity and management development
• Section 4
  Starting and scaling companies
• Section 5
  Driving regional enterprise
  • Mantis Cranes hoists exports to new heights
  • Competitive businesses in all regions the goal of cross-border collaboration
  • Longford's Moulding Technologies shapes up for rapid expansion
  • Campus Incubation Programme encourages high growth start-ups throughout the country

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• Membership of the Board and Committees
• Organisation structure
• Corporate governance
• Financial statements
• Global office network

Entrepreneurship at a local level

Promoting entrepreneurship and facilitating the key infrastructural needs of Irish businesses at a local level is vital to ensuring a pipeline of new business leaders, new business ideas and entrepreneurial activity. Throughout the year Enterprise Ireland continued to work in partnership with local and regional development bodies to ensure that the current and future entrepreneurial, environmental and infrastructural needs of key sectors were identified and supported.

Community Enterprise Centres

The availability of business space is a fundamental requirement for entrepreneurs in any region of Ireland. A well developed enterprise infrastructure will more readily allow new innovation based businesses to generate and emerge. Community Enterprise Centres (CECs) provide the space and supportive environment for budding entrepreneurs and serve to help the development of entrepreneurship in urban and rural locations. CECs are a tangible and visible contribution to regional development. A total of €50.8 million has been approved for the development of CECs since 1989.

In April 2007, Minister Micheál Martin announced the provision of €21 million for investment under a new Community Enterprise Centre scheme for the period 2007–2009. This scheme is expected to generate 330 new businesses creating over 1,500 new jobs.

Investments of €6.74 million were approved under the scheme in 2007. The investment will bring the total number of Enterprise Ireland-supported CECs throughout the country to 134. The existing centres currently host almost 1,000 businesses employing over 4,850 people.

 

Successful projects under the first round of the 2007–2009 Community Enterprise Centre Scheme

Region	New/Expansion	Community Enterprise Centre
Dublin	Expansion	Enterprise Action, Neilstown, Clondalkin, Dublin 22
Dublin	Expansion	Terenure Enterprise Centre, Dublin 6W
Mid East	Expansion	Allenwood Community Development Association Ltd, Allenwood North, Naas, Co Kildare
Mid East	Expansion	Arklow Business Enterprise Centre Ltd, Co Wicklow
Mid East	Expansion	Kells Community Enterprise Company Ltd, Kells, Co Meath
Mid East	Expansion	Wicklow Enterprise Park Ltd, Wicklow
Mid West	New	Farranfore Enterprise Centre, Castleisland, Co Kerry
Mid West	New	Kenmare Livestock Mart Co-Operative Society, Kenmare, Co Kerry
Mid West	New	Kilmallock Association of Trade & Commerce, Kilmallock, Co Limerick
Mid West	New	Roughty Valley Pig Co-operative Society Ltd, Meelick, Kilgarvan, Co Kerry
Midlands	New	The North West Kildare/North Offaly Partnership, Edenderry, Co Offaly
North East	New	Blacklion Enterprise Centre, Cavan County Enterprise Fund, Cavan
North East	New	Greenore Greencastle Community Development Company, Greenore, Co Louth
North East	Expansion	Killeshandra Enterprise Centre, Cavan County Enterprise Fund, Cavan
North West	New	Ballybofey and Stranorlar Integrated Community Company, Ballybofey, Co Donegal
North West	New	Manorhamilton Enterprise Forum, Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim
North West	Expansion	Inishowen Tourist Development Co Ltd, Moville, Co Donegal
North West	Expansion	Leitrim County Enterprise Fund, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim
South East	New	Kilmacthomas Community Enterprise Centre, Kilmacthomas, Co Waterford
South East	Expansion	Enniscorthy Enterprise & Technology Centre Ltd, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford
Sount East	Expansion	Dunhill Rural Enterprise Ltd, Dunhill, Co Waterford
West	Expansion	Roscommon IT & Knowledge Centre Ltd, Roscommon

 

Client Employment Performance by Region 2007

Region	Total Employment	Gains	Losses	Net Change
Dublin/Mid-East	59,485	6,300	-5,594	706
Midlands	9,923	864	-623	241
North-East	15,510	1,056	-929	127
North-West	5,931	578	-460	118
South-East	17,592	1,467	-1,318	149
South-West	18,065	1,564	-2,067	-503
Mid West	15,471	1,486	-1,158	328
West	11,693	1,300	-1,145	155
Total	153,670	14,615	-13,294	1,321