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The EU - Supporting
Your Local Community
Ireland has been a net beneficiary from the on areas such as research, technology and
EU Budget since accession in 1973. By the innovation supporting SMEs, ICT, energy Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU Research
beginning of 2015, Ireland received over efficiency and education, training and labour and Innovation programme ever with
€72.5 billion. However, this does not include activation measures. Additional funding nearly €80 billion of funding available
payments made directly to beneficiaries, such opportunities will arise under the Horizon over years (2014 to 2020) – in addition
as research receipts. 2020, Erasmus, Connecting Europe and to the private investment that this
Cosme EU level programmes which cover money will attract. It promises more
The majority of Irish funding from the EU
research, education, infrastructure networks breakthroughs, discoveries and world-
has come through the Common Agricultural
and SME competitiveness and a number of firsts by taking great ideas from the
Policy (CAP), providing direct income and
other smaller programmes. laboratory to the market.
market support to the agricultural sector. In
2015, Structural Funds provided €150m and With this support from Europe, Ireland is
the European Social Funds contributed over continuing to develop a clean, innovative and
€24m towards education and training, social highly skilled economy, providing world-class
inclusion and supports for vulnerable sectors leadership and competitiveness in areas such
of Irish society. as IT, Research and Technology. Furthermore,
Irish farmers are producing high-quality
For the 2014-2020 Programme, the
products for world markets, with a reputation
majority of Irish funding will continue to
for excellence.
come through CAP and Ireland can also still
expect to receive significant receipts under This information leaflet provides an insight
structural fund spending. As in recent years, into some of the ways that the EU has
structural funding will continue to focus recently supported County Laois.
Ireland has been awarded a total of
€273.3m for 622 participations and
472 projects. In recent years, local Laois
companies have availed of funding and
last year, a prominent healthcare support
provider joined the list of participants.
Home Instead in Laois is participating
in a €4.8m funded project called
ProACT. Home Instead is a global leader
in providing home care for seniors,
operating in 20 countries through
independently owned, franchised
businesses. Home Instead Ireland
with its Laois partner, is a partner in
a project looking at improving home
care and the quality of life for clients
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through technology – ‘Integrated Technology
Ecosystem for ProACTive Patient Centred
Care’. The project is addressing a major EU
research priority in personalised healthcare to
develop advanced ICT systems and services
for Integrated Care.
ProACT is targeting Europe’s 50m multi-
morbid patients to proactively self-manage
and offset the EU’s annual €700 billion cost
of chronic disease management. It aims to
do this by providing and evaluating an open
application programming interface (API)
to integrate a variety of new and existing
technologies to advance ‘home based’
integrated care for patients who are living
with chronic multimorbidities including
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD), diabetes and chronic heart failure
(CHF). Amanda Bohan, CEO/Owner of Home
Instead Laois and Kildare, has participated in
Aisling Hegarty, Amanda Bohan & Philomena Fennelly, Home Instead Senior Care, Kilcullen Focus Groups to assist the project partners.
Supporting SMEs
Business. The runner up in this section was
Adrienne Muldowney of Muldowney Denture
Studios.
In the Best Business Idea category the winner
New EU developments aim to support 2016. Representatives of Laois County was Francis Cosgrave of Sonrimor Limited.
entrepreneurship and innovation among Council, the Laois Local Enterprise Office, Francis is an independent dairy consultant
SMEs to drive new firm creation, expansion Laois Partnership and the Institute of whose idea is a cloud based software
and employment and to help with the need to Technology (IT) Carlow gathered to launch management tool that will help farmers
overcome a range of operational barriers. the Inspire project that is aiming to recruit make decisions for their stock. The runner
20 participants from Rathdowney and its up in this section was Alison McEvoy of AA
Laois has one Local Enterprise Office (LEO) McEvoy.
surrounding areas and assist them to explore
delivering the Entrepreneurship in Micro-
and create new business opportunities. Kelly Lou Ging of Kelly Lou Cakes was
enterprise scheme that is based in Portlaoise
Enterprise Centre. The LEO supplies business This project aims to provide targeted the winner in the Best Established Business
information and advice clinics, training and interventions to assist innovators, category. Kelly Lou started the business in
mentoring, financial supports and networking entrepreneurs and SMEs to develop their June 2012 and since then it has grown into
opportunities as well as links to the skills and abilities to providing greater levels a large café, containing tea rooms, a mobile
Enterprise Europe Network. It also offers an of economic growth and employment, as well catering unit and commercial bakery.
online guide to funding supports. as fostering competitiveness. It is based in The runner up in this section was Frankie
the Youth Cafe premises in Rathdowney and Horan of Frankies Hairdressing Saloon in
Laois LEO is part of a group of LEOs that
is running for 10 months. Mountmellick .
received funding to set up The Midlands
Engineering Cluster Programme. This is The INSPIRE project is a cross-border
a structured programme of market-led initiative that is run through the Ireland-
innovation, best practice transfer and product Wales Programme, with Carlow IT as
and trade development that recently received partners. It aims to help SMEs, entrepreneurs,
funding through Enterprise Ireland. It will innovators and researchers to develop
create a new synergy between engineering creative thinking and to commercially exploit
enterprises, educational institutions and ideas.
support agencies in the region, that will aid
their sustainability. LEO Westmeath, LEO Best Young Entrepreneur
Laois, LEO Offaly and LEO Longford are
Laois’s best young entrepreneurs were
included in this cluster.
announced in December 2016. The Overall
Winner of Laois Best Young Entrepreneur was
Inspire Rathdowney Alan Meredith of the Alan Meredith Studio,
A new initiative to generate business who works in wood sculpture and craft. Alan
in Rathdowney was launched in May also won in his category of Best Start Up
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The Locker group created a tidy to hang
inside lockers (with mirror, clock and
timetable) and hope to make a tidy profit
when it goes on sale to schools in Laois.
The ‘Funky Fusion’ team made beautiful
coloured glass fused jewellery, cashing in
on the 1916 commemorations with tricolour
lapel pins.
The Most Innovative category had three
winners - Eco Fitness from Heywood CS, the
team of Eimear Malone, Megan Shiel and
Emily Mulhall.
Christopher Carew from 3D Print Studio at Mountrath Community School.
Student Enterprise and customised mobile phone cases. His Locker Genius
The development of 3D printing, a colouring cable protector for iPhones will go on sale
locally, and Christopher is already making a Winners also included Mood Food by
book and a computer game were awarded
profit while paying off the 3D machine’s cost. Mountrath CS girls Molly Donnery, Aoife
top prizes at the Laois Local Enterprise
Langford and MaryKate Moore, and the
Office’s county final of the Student Enterprise The prize for Best Display was jointly Hot Choc Bar from Colaiste Iosagain in
Awards in 2016. awarded to Locker Genius by the Chriost Portarlington.
First prize in the senior category went to 3D Ri team of Roisin Larkin, Aine O’Neill and
Print Studio founder Christopher Carew Ellen O’Dwyer, and Funky Fusion from St
from Mountrath CS. His slogan is ‘if you Fergals College, Maire Comerford and Ciara
dream it I can make it’, supplies 3D photos Heffernan.
Helping Rural Development
More than €1.6 billion was paid to over in the country. Laois farmers received over
130,000 Irish farmers last year under a €36.2m in Single Payments alone.
variety of EU agriculture schemes. Currently,
Rural areas also receive other supports
Irish farmers receive EU funding of
including the Rural Development Programme
€1.2 billion every year through CAP
as well as through investment in towns and
funding and since 2007, Irish farmers have
villages and through structural programmes.
received over €12 billion. Further support
of €2.3 billion was received through rural The Leader Initiative continues to support
development programmes, with a further communities, tourism, local businesses as
€2.2 billion secured for the 2014-2020 well as towns and villages. Laois Community
period. In recent years, these programmes and Enterprise Development Company was
accounted for around 90% of our total EU awarded over €578k in funding in 2015 and
public sector receipts. In 2015, total CAP Laois has been allocated over €7.1m for the
payments of over €44.5m were distributed to 2014-2020 programme.
2,752 recipients in Laois, giving an average
payment of €16,183 which is the 10th largest
and Technology Exhibition in January
Education & Youth
2017. Heywood students Sarah McMahon,
Jessica Barrett and Florianna Mezzapelle
investigated what factors influence speed
most, in ‘Striding for Speed’.
Ruth Bergin and Maeve Weston studied the
effect of positive and negative feedback on
schoolchildren, in ‘A Quantification of the
Effect of Praise and Criticism on the Standard
of Academic Performance’.
Portlaoise College second years Emma
Lynch, Ben O’Rourke and Saorch Lawlor
under the guidance of Ms Sweeney and Ms
Kinsella, tested mains water in Laois against
three bottled waters. In the past five years,
Laois has won 9 awards.
Laois Science Fest
As part of Science Week, Laois hosted a
number of events in schools and various
locations around the county. Topics covered
Lois Science Fest - Photo Leinster Express a diverse range of subjects from ‘The Secret
Lives of Ravens and Crows’ that was held in
A strong emphasis is being put on supporting Garda Youth Division Project - Portlaoise Library, to an ‘Exploration Dome’
employment and social inclusion for youth. Foróige Time Travel Gardens in Timahoe. Visitors to Timahoe were able to
The EU Youth Programme is strongly focused Four gardens designed and built by Foróige join Ireland’s largest mobile planetarium for a
on helping the unemployed to return to the young people from Cork, Galway, Clare series of shows exploring the night’s sky and
labour market, with particular attention to and Laois were on display at the National the deepest oceans. Abbeyleix South School
youth and long-term unemployed people. Ploughing Championships in 2016. The also hosted an event called ‘Science Magic’.
Laois and Offaly share one Education young people worked with Diarmuid Gavin to
Training Board (ETB) with offices in Portlaoise develop their ideas and the four ‘time travel’ Food Dudes
and Tullamore. The ETB also supports two themed gardens were truly spectacular. They Food Dudes is a programme that encourages
Youthreach Centres in Mountmellick and went on to be featured on TV3 and in other children to eat more fruit and vegetables
Portlaoise that provide an education and media outlets. both in school and at home. It is ultimately
training programme for early school leavers. designed to enable children to enjoy eating
Young Scientists healthy diets and to create a healthy eating
Local Training Initiatives in Laois include
Two groups from Heywood Community culture within schools. 52 schools in Laois
an outdoor training Education Centre in
School and another from Portlaoise College are currently participating in this healthy
Birr. Birr Outdoor Education Centre offers
were among the 550 entrants chosen to initiative.
environmental education courses, adventure
sports and team building activities to groups show projects at the BT Young Scientist
of people from the ages of 8 to 80 years.
Courses are flexible and tailored to meet the
needs of primary schools, secondary schools,
Sustainable Energy
youth groups and corporate groups.
Erasmus+ provides funding to Irish
educational organisations to carry out a wide
range of projects involving staff, learners
and the wider educational community. Laois community energy projects were throughout the county. Stradbally House
Recent figures show that there were 4,714 allocated over €45k in financial support was one of the energy projects that received
participants from Ireland, which was a 9% resulting in substantial improvements in financial support.
increase since last year. homes, community buildings and businesses
For further information please contact:
The European Commission Representation in Ireland
Tel: 01 6341111 Email eu-ie-info-request@ec.europa.eu
www.euireland.ie www.facebook.com/EUIreland www.twitter.com/eurireland
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