Meath Enterprise Week Business Conference and Expo

Speech by Damien English T.D., Minister for Housing and Urban Development

for Meath Enterprise Week Business Conference and Expo 

Knightsbrook Hotel, Trim

Thursday, 16^th November 2017

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY PLEASE

Ladies and Gentlemen, entrepreneurs of County Meath, it is a great pleasure to be in Trim for the 4^th Annual Meath Enterprise Week Business Conference and Expo.

I would like to pay tribute to Gary O’Meara and his team at Meath Enterprise for continuing with this showcase event that brings together the very best of Meath Entrepreneurship under one roof.

This year’s conference theme of ‘Collaboration, Innovation and Entrepreneurship’ encapsulates the essence of what it takes to bring an idea for a product or service from inception right through to the market.

But it is the ‘Innovation’ aspect of the expo that excites me the most. Innovation is nothing new to Meath.

Innovation is not just driven by bright ideas, innovation is driven by entrepreneurs, who take great ideas and bring them to life as new products, new services and new businesses.

Five thousand years ago Meath was at the cutting edge of innovation in Europe. The best Scientists and Engineers in Europe, in the world, were working to build the megalithic structure at Newgrange.

That building was precisely aligned to flood the inner burial chamber with light at dawn on the shortest day of the year and demonstrates just how innovative and skilled our remote ancestors were.

The factors which led to the creation of Western Europe’s first innovation hub in Meath, location and connectivity, a highly skilled workforce and a great quality of life, are still present in the county.

In point of fact they are stronger than ever.

My vision for Meath, a vision shared by Meath Co Council, Meath Enterprise and business in Meath is that Meath will not just be a great county to live in, but a great county to work in & to invest in.

And the Boyne Valley Food Innovation District is absolutely critical to making that vision a reality.

I think the secret to success for the Food Innovation District is collaboration. And the same is true for your success in business.

Collaboration within industry, between businesses and with academia and researchers can help unlock the full potential of what you are offering and deliver real impact for Meath and for job creation in the county.

It is through your success over the past few years in business that has seen more jobs created in Meath.

The national unemployment rate is now at 6%, and it continues to drop.

4 out of 5 jobs created in the last 12 months have been outside Dublin.

There are now approximately 85,000 Meath people in work

927 Meath jobs supported by the Local Enterprise Office (2016)

8,732 Meath Jobs in Meath Business supported by Enterprise Ireland, IDA and Uduras na Gaeltachta (2016)

Thousands upon thousands of jobs created by small business in Meath.

I want to thank you for your work, for developing your business and for your dedication to job creation in Meath.

I want to thank Meath Enterprise, Meath LEO, the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and all the State Agencies for working with you when needed.

I would like to leave you with a quote from Ewing Marion Kauffman

“All of the money in the world cannot solve problems unless we work together. And if we work together, there is no problem in the world that can stop us”

I have no doubt that if work together we will drive your business, our county and the Boyne Valley Region well on its way to being at the cutting edge centre of innovation & job creation in the 21^st Century.

Together we will make Meath a great place to live, work, and build a brighter future for our children.

ENDS

 

Meath West benefits from Fine Gael’s scheme to help move people from welfare to work – English

Participants in the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA) are twice as likely to be in full employment after six months than those who did not take part, a review has found.

The study compared people who had stayed on the BTWEA scheme for its full two year duration with non-participants.

Minister for Housing and Urban Renewal, Damien English T.D. said the review, published by Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar, was very encouraging for Meath West.

“In Meath, some 475 people are currently participating in the programme, while in Westmeath the figure is 235 people.

“Entrepreneurs are vital for local economies, our economic future and for job creation.

“I would encourage anyone who is currently unemployed in Meath and Westmeath to use this valuable State support which helps starting a new business.

“This review has shown the allowance is highly effective in getting people in Meath and Westmeath from welfare to work” the Meath West Fine Gael T.D. and Minister said.

The BTWEA helps people who are unemployed or claiming welfare to set up their own business and continue receiving State income supports for two years, while getting advice and support for running a new enterprise.

Minister English continued: “The Department of Social Protection has also made it much easier for many more people to avail of the allowance.

“The qualification period has been reduced from 12 months to just nine months for more people on welfare, not just for Jobseekers, but also reduced those on other schemes like One-Parent Family Payment, Jobseekers Transitional Payment, Disability Allowance, and Farm Assist, and other welfare payments.”

ENDS

Geographic breakdown of BTWEA participants by county:

County	Number Participants	Percentage of Live Register for County
CARLOW	194	8.7%
CAVAN	275	11.1%
CLARE	412	12.4%
CORK	770	6.2%
DONEGAL	413	6.0%
DUBLIN	2833	8.0%
GALWAY	612	8.9%
KERRY	390	9.3%
KILDARE	425	7.3%
KILKENNY	297	11.8%
LAOIS	220	6.9%
LEITRIM	130	12.4%
LONGFORD	160	8.2%
LOUTH	509	9.1%
MAYO	384	9.3%
MEATH	475	14.0%
MONAGHAN	162	8.8%
OFFALY	198	5.7%
ROSCOMMON	158	11.3%
SLIGO	194	10.6%
TIPPERARY	406	7.3%
WATERFORD	375	8.2%
WESTMEATH	235	5.9%
WEXFORD	369	5.5%
WICKLOW	546	12.9%
Total Participants and national Percentage	11548	8.2%

 

English welcomes halving of unemployment since 2008

Monday, 10th October 2016

Local Minister for Housing and Urban Renewal and Fine Gael T.D. for
Meath West Damien English has welcomed the recent news from the CSO
that unemployment has effectively halved since the financial crisis
hit Ireland in 2008.

However he said continued effort was needed locally in Meath and
nationally to reach full employment with a constant focus on skills,
innovation and the importance of local SMEs as well as FDI.

“In Meath our native agri-food sector, Boyne Valley Food Series, Boyne
Valley Food Hub and Tourism sector are all strong local assets for
more local and sustainable jobs” Minister English stated.

“Now standing at 286,490, the unadjusted Live Register has dropped
below 300,000 for the first time since 2008. This is a year on year
decrease of 13.92%. It’s further evidence that good progress is being
made in tackling joblessness and helping people back into work.

Three major milestones have now been passed since Fine Gael entered
Government in 2011:  1) the Live Register falling below 300,000 2)
unemployment falling from its peak of 15% to below 8%, and 3) the
number of people employed exceeding two million, all for the first
time in eight years” Minister English stated.

“To reach full employment we must continue one-to-one engagements with
jobseekers; we must keep talking to business people about the barriers
in creating jobs, making work pay through sustainable wage increases
and finally tax reductions that also make work pay and welfare less
attractive. Developing new policies, investment and infrastructure
across the whole of Government in education, training, housing and
childcare all depends on reaching full employment” concluded Minister
English.

ENDS

Jobless fall welcome but we cannot pause until we reach full employment again – Minister English

Monday, 11th July 2016

Minister for Housing and Urban Renewal Damien English T.D. has
welcomed the fall in unemployment nationally from 9.4% in June 2015 to
7.8% in June 2016 gone by, but said that the Government, state
agencies and local County Councils/LEOs cannot pause for a moment
until we reach full employment.

“I welcome the news that unemployment continues to fall.  Indeed it is
now halved since the Great Recession of 2008 struck our country with
all of its dreadful consequences for our people and society.  The next
task is to see this figure being cut in half again with the reaching
of full employment” stated Minister English.

Minister English, who in his previous role in the Department of Jobs,
was a key driver of the Action Plan for Jobs process, along with the
Science Strategy and Skills Strategy, said that continued Research,
Development, Innovation and Education locally in Meath and nationally
were key to keeping job creation on track.  Ireland’s business climate
and its tax rates must remain both competitive and attractive to
investors and to returning Irish people in a post Brexit environment
he said.

“All of the barriers big and small, locally and nationally, to
creating jobs must be identified, examined and removed.  In the early
and mid 2000s we took the recovery for granted in this country and
squandered the boom, we cannot take our eye off the ball this time
until we reach full employment again” concluded Minister English.

English launches Mid East Action Plan for Jobs to help create 25,000 more jobs in Meath, Kildare and Wicklow

Fine Gael TD for Meath West and Minister of State at the Department of
Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Damien English has jointly launched
the Action Plan for Jobs for the Mid East region today in Navan.
Minister English, who was joined by the Minister for Jobs, Richard
Bruton TD said that the plan will help create 25,000 more jobs in
Meath, Kildare and Wicklow.

Minister English welcomed the particular focus in this plan that
supports the progression of the Boyne Valley Food Hub in Meath by
Meath Enterprise, Meath County Council and the Institute of
Technologies.  This will serve to enhance the region’s capacity for
food innovation, research and supporting food related industry

“The Mid East Action Plan for Jobs will seek to build on the existing
strengths and assets of each region to maximise enterprise growth and
job creation. The plan also includes investigating the feasibility of
establishing a ‘Foundation for Entrepreneurship’ in County Meath in
collaboration with relevant stakeholders. This would be a very welcome
development for the locality with respect to developing the
entrepreneurship environment here.

“This Government is committed to keeping the recovery going and to
ensuring that it spreads throughout the country. Based on the success
nationally of the Action Plan for Jobs, and the strong buy in to this
process by locally based stakeholders, it is realistic to target
25,000 additional jobs in Meath, Kildare and Wicklow by 2020.

“This means 25,000 extra pay packets coming into communities and
25,000 individuals and families who can afford to lead better lives.
The aim of the national Action Plan for Jobs is to help enterprises to
create employment in all regions of the country. Over 135,000 jobs
have been added to the economy since its launch in February 2012.

“Meath and the Mid East region, with its young and growing population,
highly educated and professionally experienced workforce has the
potential to be one of the fastest growing economic regions in the
country.  Its people and its proximity to Dublin gives the region an
opportunity to offer a world class location which has all of the
advantages of a capital city but with the added advantage of a
significantly lower cost base.

“The key challenge for us in Meath and the Mid East region is to
create additional jobs within the region so that more people who live
in the region can work here.

“Fine Gael has a clear plan to keep the recovery going. More people in
work creates the resources to cut taxes for working people and invest
in better services, improving living standards for all. This will
ensure more people feel the benefits of a recovering economy in their
own lives. The next election will be a choice between those with a
plan to keep the recovery going, or those who will put it at risk
through instability and chaos.

“The Government has committed up to €250 million in funding over the
next five years to support the Regional Action Plans.  I am confident
that the mid east regional Action Plan for Jobs will deliver for Co.
Meath.”

Government publishes ambitious Innovation Strategy – Innovation 2020: Excellence Talent Impact

The Minister  for Research, Innovation and Skills Damien English TD, together with the Taoiseach and the Minister for Jobs, today published Innovation 2020, Ireland’s 5-year strategy for research and development, science and technology.

The headline ambition of the Strategy is to increase total investment in R&D in Ireland to 2.5% of GNP. On current official projections, this would mean that over €5billion will be invested per year in R&D by the public and private sectors by 2020. This will represent almost doubling current levels of investment (€2.756billion in 2013).

Among the other ambitious targets to be delivered by the strategy are:

• the number of research personnel in enterprise will be increased by 60% to 40,000

• research masters and PhD enrolments will be increased by 30% to 2,250;
• private investment of R&D performed in the public research system will be doubled
• 40% increase in the share of PhD researchers transferring from SFI research teams to industry
• Ireland’s participation in International Research Organisations will be expanded – we will apply for full membership of ELIXIR, and we will explore membership options for CERN and ESO
• the network of Centres will be further developed, building critical mass and addressing enterprise needs;
• a successor to the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions will be rolled out to include investment in the creation of new, and the maintenance and upgrading of existing, facilities and equipment;
• €1.25bn funding under the EU Framework Programme Horizon 2020 will be drawn down;
• a new Programme of Funding for Frontier Research will be introduced, providing resilience and responsiveness to meet new challenges or opportunities as they emerge;
• challenge-centric research will be initiated to stimulate solutions-driven collaborations bringing together enterprise, higher education institutions and public sector to identify and address national challenges
• horizon-scanning – in the coming years a formal horizon-scanning exercise will be undertaken to identify areas of strategic commercial opportunity for Irish-based enterprises. This process will feed into the next research prioritisation exercise in 2018
• international benchmarking – a series of structures will be put in place to benchmark Ireland’s performance in these areas against other comparable economies, and develop steps to improve our comparative performance

Launching the report, Minister of State for Research Innovation and Skills, Damien English TD said: “Developing the talent of our population is an underlying aim of Innovation 2020 and will be critical to the successful realisation of our national vision, giving Ireland the capacity to exploit opportunities both established and emerging. Our success in delivering on our vision will depend on our people – undertaking the research, working in and creating successful enterprises, and contributing to the society in which we live. We will support the full continuum of talent development from primary level through to Postdoctoral research and from frontier research across all disciplines to the practical application and the successful deployment of that talent and research in driving innovation in enterprises and public services.”

An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD said:

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD said:

Welcoming the launch of the strategy, Professor Mark WJ Ferguson, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of Ireland, said: “I welcome the new strategy Innovation 2020 which highlights the importance of scientific research and innovation to all aspects of Ireland’s future and which confirms the Government’s commitment to increase both public and private investment in this area. Innovation 2020 builds on the considerable past successes and outlines some ambitious new plans such as challenge based funding. Science, innovation and technology are driving rapid global changes and the world is becoming more competitive. Ireland needs to continue to push forward: be the creators and owners of new ideas and innovations, upskill our people, strengthen and future proof our economy and society. Implementation of Innovation 2020 will allow us to do that: excellence, talent and impact.”

Fall of 36.5% in Meath Live Register as local economy strengthens – English

Fine Gael TD for Meath West, Damien English, has said that the steady reduction in the number of people signing on the Live Register in Meath is strengthening the growing local economy.

“The latest CSO data shows that the Live Register in Meath has fallen by 36.5% since the launch of the Action Plan for Jobs in 2012, while the national unemployment rate is now 8.9%.

“We are seeing economic progress, with over 135,000 more people at work, but we cannot take for granted that stability and recovery will continue. It is also important that we ensure the recovery continues to spread to all parts of the country, including here in Meath.

“A drop in the number of people signing on the Live Register is very positive and highlights the growth in the local economy. More people in work creates the resources to cut taxes for working people and invest in better services.

“It is important that jobs are created that pay more than welfare and where hard work is rewarded. Fine Gael has a plan to ensure that parents earning the minimum wage receive a top-up to encourage them to enter the work-force. This move will also support small local businesses.

“Plans are also in place to eliminate the USC during the term of the next Government. This harsh tax, introduced by Fianna Fáil, is a burden on workers and I have been working for some time on behalf of the people of Meath to get rid of it.

“This Government will work to keep the economic recovery going, which helps to provide better services for all of society. The Regional Action Plan for Jobs is being rolled out to drive further job creation in Meath and I am optimistic that the numbers signing onto the Live Register will continue to fall as the Government continues to implement our plan.”

VIDEO: Best of luck to Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur finalists

Wishing all the national finalists in Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur all the very best this weekend: https://youtu.be/l5qAX_2wCAc

 

Gael Form Ltd from Meath takes Grand Prix Award at the 2015 Bank of Ireland Startup Awards

Grand Prix Winner: Pictured at the Bank of Ireland Startup Awards are Minister Damian English with the Bank of Ireland Grand Prix Startup Award winners Charlie McCarron and Colm Griffin from Gael Form Ltd, Ashbourne , Co Meath with Liam McLoughlin, Chief Executive Retail Ireland at Bank of Ireland.

Partsyard.ie won Innovative Startup of the Year Award

Gael Form Ltd from Meath has won the Grand Prix Startup of the Year Award at the Bank of Ireland Startup Awards 2015. Gael Form Ltd was also awarded the gold award in the Service Startup of the Year category, at the awards ceremony which took place in November in Croke Park in Dublin. Special Guest on the night was Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation and local Meath West T.D. Damien English. who presented the award. Partsyard.ie also from Meath won the gold award in the Innovative Startup of the Year Award category.

Established in 2012, the Startup Awards recognise innovative, successful and aspirational Irish start-up companies who have launched their businesses in the last three years. This year, awards were presented to deserving winners across 11 categories including tech, retail, product and innovation with gold, silver and bronze winners been awarded in each category.

 

Consistent reductions in Meath unemployment will help to keep the economic recovery going – English

Damien English, Fine Gael TD and Mnister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation has said that the consistent reductions in the Meath unemployment figures will help to keep the economic recovery going.

“CSO figures for October show that the Live Register has dropped by 35.16% in Meath since the launch of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs in February 2012.  This is the highest drop in the country.

“When this Government took office, we promised to fix the public finances, restore growth in the economy and get people back to work. The task now is to finish the job and keep that recovery going. Crucial to this is continued job creation and the consistent decreases in unemployment since 2012 are certainly helping to keep the economic recovery going in Meath.

“Replicating this all over the country via our Regional Action Plans for Jobs is how this Government will achieve its plan to see all the jobs lost during the economic crisis replaced by 2018.

“Budget 2016 introduced a whole range of pro jobs measures, as it incentivises innovative startups, rewards successful entrepreneurs and makes sure that the jobs that are created will really pay. It reduces the general tax burden which helps businesses create employment. It begins the process of tax equalisation for the self-employed in order to support job creators. The Budget also maintains the 9% VAT rate for the hospitality sector which will continue to assist small business owners working in the tourism sector, which has been such an integral part of our economic recovery. A modest but significant increase in the minimum wage ensures that work pays more than welfare, while Employers’ PRSI has been adjusted to cater for these wage increases to ensure that neither employees or employers are worse off.

“This Government will work to keep the economic recovery going which helps us to provide better services for all of society. Crucial to this is the ongoing job creation successes we are seeing in Meath and right across the country.”