Council gets €150,000 grant to fund feasibility study for cross-border project

Council gets €150,000 grant to fund feasibility study for cross-border project

Fingal County Council has welcomed the announcement by Taoiseach Micheál Martin of a €150,000 grant under the Shared Island Local Authority Development Funding Scheme for the Corridor Enterprise Hubs project. The Corridor Enterprise Hubs project is a Dublin Belfast Economic Corridor (DBEC) initiative for which Fingal County Council is the lead authority. DBEC is a partnership of eight local authorities and two universities located on either side of the border. The grant will enable Fingal to commission a feasibility study on developing regional innovation hubs within the DBEC area. Innovation hubs have been identified by the DBEC partnership as having the potential for collaboration between the partners based on existing local strengths and the importance of the establishment of local clusters as highlighted in national and regional plans. The DBEC partners have identified a number of economic clusters with the potential for cross-border collaboration including: -Fintech Cluster- Circular Economy Cluster - Digital Health Cluster - Agri-tech Cluster and Advanced Manufacturing and Renewable Engineering Cluster. Welcoming the funding announcement, the Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Howard Mahony, said: “The funding from the Shared Island Scheme will allow Fingal County Council, and our partners within the Dublin Belfast Economic Corridor partnership, to undertake this important feasibility study which will examine how we can create cross-border sectoral clusters, using new or existing facilities, to promote enterprise in the region.”Fingal County Council Chief Executive AnnMarie Farrelly said: Following today’s announcement, a multi-disciplinary team drawn from within the DBEC partnership will prepare the Terms of Reference for the feasibility study, with Fingal County Council leading and managing the procurement process with the tender award anticipated in December. The successful tenderer will commence the feasibility study in January 2023 and will be supported by a Steering Committee comprised of relevant officials from within the DBEC partnership to produce a final report in Q22023. The Dublin Belfast Economic Corridor partnership consists of Belfast City Council, Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council, Armagh Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council, Newry & Mourne District Council, Louth County Council, Meath County Council, Fingal County Council and Dublin City Council plus academic partners Dublin City University and Ulster University.

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