This article is from page 2 of the 2012-01-10 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
DESPITE the ongoing recession, there were 375 new companies formed in Clare in 2011 and there were 695 new business names registered in the county according to new figures from the business intelligence analyst, Vision-net.
This translates to a total of 1,070 start-ups in Clare in 2011. The figure for company incorporations was also up 7.5 per cent on the 2010 figure (349). These figures are very healthy when offset against the total number of company liquidations in Clare in 2011 (19), with eight Clare companies going into receivership.
With the news last week that over 170 Irish companies collapsed every month, Clare only accounted for 1.3 per cent of that national figure.
Meanwhile, the Clare Local Development Company (CLDC) reported € 1.8m paid out to a wide range of community and enterprise projects in Clare during 2011 under the current EU LEADER Rural Development Programme, bringing to € 3m the amount paid out locally since 2009. The actual amount approved in this period was € 5.5m.
This form of EU-funded grant aid would have played a role in the number of new companies formed within the county in 2011.
Figures released this week by CLDC reveal that € 1.25m has been invested in enterprise in 2011, leading to the creation of at least 70 full-time jobs and the retention of hundreds of other jobs in established businesses. A further € 1.75m has been paid out to community and training initiatives, as well as community projects such as children’s playgrounds, astro-turf facilities, and community centres.
CLDC will allocate more than € 5m to local projects and initiatives during the period 2012-2013, while it expects to pay out € 2.5m to pre-approved projects during 2012.
“Since 2009, CLDC has administered more than € 5.5m to dozens of companies, projects and other initiatives throughout Clare. An additional € 5m will be allocated up to 2013 further complementing the considerable developments that have taken place locally since the beginning of 2009,” CLDC Chief Executive Doirin Graham told The Clare People this week.
Clare Local Development Company was established in 2009 with the merging of Rural Resource Development, Ennis West Partners, Eirí Córca Baiscinn and part of Obair Newmarket-on-Fergus.
The organisation is responsible for the delivery of a range of rural and enterprise, social inclusion, community development, work placement and environmental initiatives in Clare.
Currently the company employs 68 people on a wide range of programmes. It is also responsible for the employment of a further 232 people on schemes including community employment, the Rural Social Scheme and Tús.
A full list of all projects supported to date under the EU LEADER Rural Development Programme can be found on the CLDC website, www. cldc.ie.