Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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95. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if consideration will be given to make the Regional Enterprise Development Fund a rolling fund that can accept applications from local authorities all year round in view of the work involved in these applications and the scale of the projects; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30539/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Regional Enterprise Development Fund (REDF) is designed to support the ambition, goals, and implementation of the Regional Action Plan for Jobs.

The REDF is currently being delivered through two competitive calls with an overall allocation of €60m. €30.45m was approved under call one, and the balance will be available for projects submitted for call two, which closed on the 28th June.

At the launch of the second call under the REDF in April 2018 in Farmleigh House, I announced that this Fund will operate on a rolling basis in the coming years as part of Project Ireland 2040. This commitment has been made in order to assist and provide some certainty for applicants in the planning and preparation of proposals. It also encourages unsuccessful applicants to improve their submissions and reapply in a subsequent round.

Each call has a launch date, followed by briefing sessions across each region outlining the requirements of the scheme and application process. The call close takes place 10 to 12 weeks after the launch date.

This is a competitive process, in which each project is assessed against a defined set of criteria. The amount of funding approved is up to €5m per project, and, in order to ensure value for money and economic impact and benefit to Ireland, each project goes through a 7-stage assessment process before results are announced.

The competitive call process gives the assessors a clear opportunity to rank the relative merit of the projects, and ensure that the best applications are recommended for support within the financial limitations. This process benefits applicants in that they have a defined process and timelines, feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of their application and an opportunity to reapply in future. It also gives the assessment panel an opportunity to assess, rank and rate these projects relative to one another and select the best for support.

Operating a rolling-fund application process open all year round can be useful, where applicants can be funded once they reach a defined milestone(s), but the retention of external panel members to assess this process on a continuous basis is not feasible or practical.  

This process has been defined to be the best solution to deliver this REDF funding which is transparent and above board. It also has the advantage of providing feedback to unsuccessful applicants and assistance outside the competition period to submit stronger applications for subsequent calls.