West Limerick Resources - "Committed to the Community"

Support for Business Creation and Development

The continuing change in farming patterns allied to a need to provide alternative employment and enterprise options to rural dwellers gives rise to the need to focus on the economic development of rural resources.  The objective of this measure is to position the West Limerick area so as to provide economic activity of sufficient mass to attract people to live and work there

Eligible activities include but are not limited to:

• Selected investment in small rural enterprise space.

• Provision for a range of assistance types for start-up enterprises and expansion of existing enterprises including the adoption of new technologies

• Development of innovative products and activities

• The provision of a range of assistance types for adding value to local products, including support for business networks, collective marketing, local branding initiatives, and improved quality and development of artisan processing facilities

• Utilisation of local ICT capacity, for example centralised online processing of micro enterprise administrative activities, will also be supported

• Actions to foster rural entrepreneurship, particularly combined with support for small-scale research, analysis and development

Eligible enterprises

• Support is available to individual promoters, start up enterprises, existing enterprises and community micro-enterprise

• Support can only be provided to micro-enterprises which are defined as enterprises that employ fewer than 10 persons and whose annual turnover or annual balance sheet total does not exceed €2million

Support rate for individual promoters and companies

• For capital and other projects, 75% (formally 50%)  with a maximum grant of up to €150,000

• For technical assistance 75% support with a maximum grant of €30,000

Support rate for community micro-enterprises

• For capital and other projects, including I.T. related, 75% with a maximum grant of up to €150,000

• Technical assistance 90% support with a maximum grant of €30,000

If you have a project idea and would like to discuss it in more detail, please contact:

Morgan Boohan, RDP Enterprise Officer-069 66290 or email mboohan@wlr.ie