Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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72. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when the regional enterprise development fund will be open to new applications. [44888/22]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Balanced regional development is a priority of mine and this Government.

The Government, through Enterprise Ireland, has provided over €126m in funding through the Regional Enterprise Development Fund, Border Enterprise Development Fund, and Regional Enterprise Transition Scheme to assist enterprise development and regional jobs growth across all regions.These Funds enable significant collaborative and innovative regional projects to provide a timely impetus to job creation in regional locations.?

Up to €180m is being made available over the coming months and years for the nine new Regional Enterprise Plans to develop and implement collaborative and innovative enterprise projects – projects that will not just sustain but add to employment at county, regional and national level.

Under the recent Regional Enterprise Transition Innovation Scheme 47 projects across all the regions secured funding of €3.45m to create a pipeline of projects for future funding calls.

€12m has been made available to assist existing Regional Enterprise Development Fund and Border Enterprise Development Fund which have incurred unforeseen additional construction costs to allow those projects to be completed as originally envisaged.

Substantial funding will also be made available up to 2027 for regional enterprise projects under funding from the European Regional Development Fund and the Shared Island fund.

My officials are working with Enterprise Ireland and relevant stakeholders on announcing a new regional enterprise funding call towards the end of the year.