Council gets €150,000 grant for cross-border project
Fingal County Council has welcomed the announcement by Taoiseach Micheál Martin of a €150,000 grant under the Shared Island Local Authority Development Funding Scheme for the Corridor Enterprise Hubs project.
The Corridor Enterprise Hubs project is a Dublin Belfast Economic Corridor (DBEC) initiative for which Fingal County Council is the lead authority. DBEC is a partnership of eight local authorities and two universities located on either side of the border.
The grant will enable Fingal to commission a feasibility study on developing regional innovation hubs within the DBEC area. Innovation hubs have been identified by the DBEC partnership as having the potential for collaboration between the partners based on existing local strengths and the importance of the establishment of local clusters as highlighted in national and regional plans.
The DBEC partners have identified a number of economic clusters with the potential for cross-border collaboration including:
- Fintech Cluster
- Circular Economy Cluster
- Digital Health Cluster
- Agri-tech Cluster
- Advanced Manufacturing and Renewable Engineering Cluster
Fingal County Council Chief Executive AnnMarie Farrelly said: “A network of enterprise hubs, focussing on specific sectors, provides an opportunity to collaborate with key industry stakeholders and education partners to develop research projects and investment opportunities to drive investment and support job creation and upskilling in the region. The feasibility study will examine the affordability, deliverability and sustainability of the hubs and show how such a network would contribute to a deliberate and balanced approach to the development of the region.”
Following today’s announcement, a multi-disciplinary team drawn from within the DBEC partnership will prepare the Terms of Reference for the feasibility study, with Fingal County Council leading and managing the procurement process with the tender award anticipated in December.
The successful tenderer will commence the feasibility study in January 2023 and will be supported by a Steering Committee comprised of relevant officials from within the DBEC partnership to produce a final report in Q22023.
The Dublin Belfast Economic Corridor partnership consists of Belfast City Council, Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council, Armagh Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council, Newry & Mourne District Council, Louth County Council, Meath County Council, Fingal County Council and Dublin City Council plus academic partners Dublin City University and Ulster University.
The Shared Island Local Authority Funding Scheme is funded by the Shared Island Fund and managed by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The Scheme enables Local Authorities North and South to progress feasibility and development work on new joint investment projects which deliver local and regional development goals. Its objective is to generate a pipeline of well-developed cross-border local authority projects that will be in a position to secure funding for a construction or implementation stage from both jurisdictions, including through the Shared Island Fund. Proposals that have received funding involve cross-border Local Authority partnerships from across the island of Ireland. They focus on a wide range of areas, such as tourism, biodiversity, heritage and climate action. The scheme will develop a pipeline of new capital investment proposals in these and other areas, with a view to accessing further future funding in both jurisdictions.