Over 17,300 new companies have been set-up in Ireland so far this year

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Over 17,300 new companies have been set-up in Ireland during the first 11 months of 2015 according to Solocheck.

"Unsurprisingly, a large percentage of these new companies have been formed in Dublin however, we thought it would be interesting to look at the spread of start-ups throughout the country and see if any other hot spots emerged.


Company Start-Ups 2015 - Heat Map

As you can see, the majority of start-ups in Ireland this year are based in Dublin or Cork. Between them they account for just over 9,800 of the start-ups formed this year (Dublin: 8,065; Cork: 1,752).

The counties bordering Dublin, along with Limerick, Tipperary and Galway have all seen over 400 start-ups so far this year."

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SWORDS BECOMES THE NEWEST TOWN TO FLY THE PURPLE FLAG

Friday, September 25, 2015

Swords is celebrating today after learning it has achieved the prestigious Purple Flag status for its evening and night-time economy. Purple Flag is a town and city centre award – similar to the Blue Flag for beaches – which aims to raise the standard and broaden the appeal of town and city centres between the hours of 18:00 and 05:00. Towns awarded the Purple Flag are recognised for providing a vibrant mix of entertainment while promoting the safety and well being of visitors and local residents. 

Since 2007, 65 towns and cities in Ireland and the UK have achieved Purple Flag status. Purple Flag accredited towns have all reported a consistent increase in footfall and a decrease in crime within the evening and night-time economy.

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Launch of the Public Consultation Stage of the Independent Organisational Review of An Bord Pleanála

Thursday, September 24, 2015

An Bord Pleanála was established in 1977 and has a wide range of functions including the determination of appeals and certain other matters under planning legislation and determination of applications for strategic infrastructure development. An Bord Pleanála’s functions have expanded significantly since its establishment and it is anticipated that new functions will continue to be assigned to it into the future.

The terms of the scope of the review are set out in the Terms of Reference available here.

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New local authority homes to benefit elderly and disabled people

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Further Investment in Social Housing Delivery with €180m of Project Approvals

Another 54 social housing construction projects kicked off.

Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Alan Kelly, and Minister for State for Housing, Planning & Construction, Paudie Coffey, have today, July 23rd, 2015 announced further progress on social housing delivery with the funding of almost 1200 new units across the country. (Breakdowns below).

Minister Leo Varadkar and Cllr. Kieran Dennison
launch Hansfield Housing Development

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Dublin region continues to lead the National economic recovery

Thursday, July 23, 2015


The second issue of the Dublin Economic Monitor was launched today Thursday 23rd July. A joint initiative of the four Dublin local authorities, today’s launch hosted by Fingal County Council was held in IBM Smart Cities Lab in Dublin 15. The Monitor looks exclusively at the Dublin region which incorporates the four local authority areas of Fingal, Dublin City, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and South Dublin, and tracks 15 key economic indicators.
The decision to commission the Dublin Economic Monitor reflects the enhanced role of local authorities in the area of economic development and enterprise support, in line with the local government reform programme.

For many of these indicators, Dublin is now back at, or near its peak position.

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€91m housing investment

Thursday, June 4, 2015

The Minister of State for Housing & Planning, Paudie Coffey TD has announced over €91 million worth of housing investment.

The funding will be used across a range of housing schemes to make more social housing available and to improve housing for people with disabilities, as well as retrofitting homes to improve energy efficiency.

Over 1,000 vacant social housing units will be refurbished and tenanted by people on the social housing waiting list at a cost of over €20 million countrywide. Dublin City and Cork City are receiving the largest allocations, with priority going to families facing homelessness.

Funding was allocated to the local authorities with the greatest potential to deliver units quickly and address needs.

Over 2,300 units were brought on stream last year with an average cost of refurbishment of €11,277.

A further €50.5 million will be made available for Housing Adaptations for Older People and People with a Disability living in private houses.

This will allow extensions to be built for people with a disability as well as housing adaptations to improve mobility aid (such as stair lifts, access ramps etc.) with more funding set to come later in the year. A further €11 million will be made available for local authority house adaptations and extensions to meet the needs of tenants with a disability and to deal with overcrowding.

A further €20 million has been made available for the improvement of local authority houses to make them more energy efficient.

This programme continues to sustain and create jobs while making a significant contribution to Ireland’s carbon emissions reduction targets and energy reduction targets for 2020, resulting in warmer homes and lower energy bills for local authority tenants.

As part of the EU Operational Programme 2014-2020, the energy efficiency works on social housing will attract funding under the ERDF.

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3,655 new company startups in May

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

135 new start-ups were registered daily this May while insolvencies continued to fall.

3,653 company and business start-ups were formed between the 1st and 27th May 2015 - an increase of 24% on the same period last year.

Almost 60% of these new businesses were set up by sole traders while a further 1,394 were corporate entities.
Cllr. Kieran Dennison, Cllr Ted Leddy, Cllr. Anthony Lavin at the ITLG conference hosted by Fingal County Council
 The most popular industry for corporate start-ups was the professional services sector which accounted for almost a third of these.

The wholesale & retail and social & personal services sectors accounted for a further 10% and 9% of start-ups respectively while the construction and hospitality sectors saw increases in numbers of 15% and 27% compared to May 2014.

While start-ups increased across the country, insolvencies dropped by 38% compared to May 2014 with 79 companies going out of business (compared to 128 last May).

The construction sector saw a 48% drop while insolvencies affecting the professional services sector fell by 55%.

Courtesy of Solocheck

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Today is Europe Day

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Today is Europe Day. It involves all citizens of the European Union because we are celebrating the declaration delivered on 9th May 1950 by Robert Schuman. On that day five years after the end of the Second World War, the then French Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman launched an appeal which founded European integration. 

This declaration announced the creation of the European Community of Steel and Coal (ECSC). During the European Council of Milan in 1985 the heads of state and government decided to establish 9th May as “Europe Day”. Celebrated each year since 1986, Europe Day is an opportunity for activities and festivities that bring citizens closer together and foster  peace and unity in Europe..

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Cleaner Communities Awards

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Fingal County Council has launched the 2015 Cleaner Communities Awards, which is a countywide competition aiming to make our county a cleaner, greener place to live.

The Awards reward residential and business areas for their efforts in maintaining a litter-free, well presented and environmentally friendly community or place of business.
The closing date for receipt of applications is 4pm on Friday 22nd May.

For full details of the competition and application forms, please contact Caitríona Tyrrell by email on cleaner.communities@fingal.ieby phone on 01-890 5453or see www.fingalcoco.ie.

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Dublin economy back at peak levels

Thursday, April 23, 2015

FIRST QUARTERLY ‘DUBLIN ECONOMIC MONITOR’ LAUNCHED 
#dublineconomy
  • Dublin leads the national recovery with further improvement expected over the next 12 months
The first Dublin Economic Monitor has been launched today. It is a joint initiative of the four Dublin local authorities. The Monitor, the first of its kind to look exclusively at the Dublin City region, tracks 15 key economic indicators, capturing data from the height of the boom to the economic crash and the subsequent recovery.
The decision to commission the Dublin Economic Monitor reflects the enhanced role of local authorities in the area of economic development and enterprise support, in line with the local government reform programme.

For many of these indicators, Dublin is now back at or near its peak position. 
Key facts:

  • Employment: Unemployment in Dublin is down to 8.9% from a high of 13%. Employment in services, which dominate the Dublin economy, is almost back to peak levels.
  • Housing: Dublin’s housing market is showing signs of stabilisation on the foot of Central Bank intervention; however residential rents continue to climb.
  • Commercial Property: Office rents are up strongly, while office vacancy rates have fallen significantly.
  • Public Transport: Increase in public transport trips reflects the improving economy.
  • Airport Arrivals: Dublin Airport arrivals are returning to peak levels.
  • Port Traffic: Dublin Port traffic back at peak levels.
  • Consumer Sentiment: KBC/ESRI Dublin Consumer Sentiment Index is at its highest level in the 12 year history of the series. 68% of Dublin consumers expect the economic situation to improve in the next 12 months.
  • Business Output: MARKIT Dublin PMI signals a sharp increase in business output during the first quarter 2015; new business orders have now risen in ten successive quarters for Dublin based firms.
  • Job Creation: Dublin companies continue to increase staffing levels with strong levels of job creation recorded in Q1 2015.

The Dublin Economic Monitor will be published online every quarter. DKM Consultants were engaged to produce the Monitor. KBC/ESRI were engaged to develop the Dublin consumer sentiment data and MARKIT to develop a new Dublin Purchasing Manager Index (PMI).

Dublin as a region has a pivotal part to play in driving national economic development – this cannot be overemphasised. It competes with other cities in Europe and further afield for foreign direct investment.  It is essential that we maintain a strong focus on maintaining and enhancing Dublin’s attractiveness and competitiveness as a location in which to do business, to live and work in.

The Dublin Economic Monitor is intended to address the absence of a regular report on trends in the Dublin economy. It is aimed at businesses currently operating in Dublin and those considering locating here in the future. It provides a solid overview of how the Dublin economy is performing by tracking key economic indicators from employment to housing to consumer sentiment.

John Lawlor, Director of DKM Economic Consultants said: “The Economic Monitor captures Dublin as it re-emerges from the worst recession in a generation. Leaner and more competitive, it is reasserting its role as the powerhouse of the Irish economy, and one of the most vibrant cities globally.”

Austin Hughes, Chief Economist KBC Bank Ireland said: “Dublin consumer sentiment improved quite sharply in early 2015 as optimism about economic conditions increased and the outlook for jobs brightened.” 

Andrew Harker, Senior Economist at Markit said: “The Dublin PMI data point to another strong performance of the local economy during the first three months of the year. While rates of expansion generally slowed, it should be noted that this easing was from near-record highs seen at the end of 2014.”


Access to the full report is provided by clicking on the following link:

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Help shape your Community’s future and participate in the Local Economic and Community Plan for Fingal

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Fingal County Council is to have an enhanced role in both economic and community development. This follows from the Local Government Reform Act of 2014. Fingal County Council is now developing a Local Economic and Community Plan to guide the integrated economic and community development of the County over the coming years.
Image result for Local Economic and Community Plan fingalImage result for Local Economic and Community Plan fingal
To ensure that we target actions that both stimulate economic growth and impact positively on all communities in the county.

Fingal County Council invites you to contribute suggestions as to how we might achieve this. The consultation framework invites you to make a contribution under two distinct themes. Ultimately the plan will be formulated to incorporate the findings of the consultation. Uniquely, these findings will be presented as a fully integrated series of actions, bridging economic and community activity. A discussion document has been prepared and is available at

Submissions are invited until 22nd April, 2015 and can be made:

Online at:

By email to: In writing to:
Local Economic and Community Plan Submissions, Economic Development Services, Fingal County Council, County Hall, Main Street, Swords, Co. Dublin.

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New Jobs and €112K in Grants for Fingal Businesses

Friday, February 20, 2015

Ten new jobs and over €112,000 in financial supports have been announced for six Fingal start-up businesses, in the latest announcement of job-creation grants by the Fingal Local Enterprise Office (LEO) this week.

The six local businesses come from the food, drinks and water conservation industries and were approved for business priming grants and innovation grants by the Evaluation Committee of the Fingal Local Enterprise Office this month.

Six Fingal businesses approved for financial supports, ten new jobs to be created immediately, supported through the Fingal Local Enterprise Office

Oisín Geoghegan, Head of Enterprise with Fingal County Council, confirmed that the small businesses approved for funding are creating at least ten new jobs immediately and this figure is expected to at least double within the next 12 months. The LEO investment is worth €112,200.

Announcing the latest series of grant approvals for the County this week, Geoghegan said: “Financial supports provided by the Fingal Local Enterprise Office can be crucial in helping start-ups to flourish in their first year of operation. This month we have a great crop of exciting new small businesses and these businesses have strong prospects to create further jobs in Fingal in the coming years.”

The six start-up companies include a packaging manufacturer, a micro-brewery, a new Poitin distillery, a start-up gourmet food producer and an innovative enterprise looking to break into the water conservation sector. In addition, the first Irish manufacturer of frozen Halal pizzas was approved for a start-up grant.

Paul Reid, Chief Executive of Fingal County Council said: “With Fingal’s infrastructure, transport links and its highly educated young population, more entrepreneurs are choosing to start-up their new ventures here, bringing economic growth and jobs to the area. Fingal County Council, through the Local Enterprise Office, is actively encouraging new start-ups across a wide variety of business sectors. By supporting small start-ups we are enabling them to become the big employers of the future.”

An ‘Innovation Grant’ is designed to financially assist those with a qualifying innovative business idea, who wish to examine its sustainability (up to €20,000), while a ‘Priming Grant’ is a business start-up grant for qualifying small businesses (up to €80,000).

Further information about the enterprise supports available to small businesses and new start-ups in Fingal is available through http://www.localenterprise.ie/Fingal

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"Winning Public Sector Contracts" - Public Procurement for SMEs

Friday, February 13, 2015

This free seminar is designed to be of particular relevance to Local Enterprise Office clients - that is, SMEs, with one to ten employees, that wish to supply goods/services to Fingal County Council and other Local Authorities.


Venue: Council Chamber, County Hall, Swords, Co. Dublin

Friday 27th February from 9am to 11am.

- Please note that pre-booking is essential to gain admittance to the Council Chamber.

- Places are strictly limited and are offered to Fingal businesses on a first come first served basis.

- Complementary light breakfast available from 8:30am.

- Metered Parking is available both on-street and in local car parks located within 400m of County Hall.

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