THE Draft Local Enterprise Plan 2026-2028 was presented today in a meeting at Clare County Council headquarters.
Miltown Malbay’s Theresa Mulvihill Kileen delivered a presentation to several of the county’s cllrs on the work of Clare’s local enterprise office so far and their plans for the future.
Members of each of Clare’s LEAs attended the meeting including cllrs Michael Shannon (FF), Tom O’Callaghan (FF), Bill Slattery (FG) and Michael Begley (IND) with cllr Pat Daly (FF) acting as chair.
Director of Service for Planning, Economic, Rural and Community Development, Jason Murphy was also in attendance for the meeting on Wednesday morning.
Beginning her presentation, Mulvihill Kileen highlighted her role as Senior Enterprise Development Officer with the LEO and noted that “Part of this overview and this conversation is to get some input and feedback from yourselves to endorse it going forward and make it acceptable”.
The achievements of Clare’s LEO from 2021 to 2025 were then presented to those in attendance.
According to the LEO, €2.5 million in funding has been provided to 107 enterprises across the county, with a further 206 companies supported through advice and training resulting in a final figure of 4000 trained entrepreneurs now operating in the county.
Ms. Mulvihill Kileen also mentioned some of the challenges the organisation had faced over the last four years, making reference to the effects of Covid and the large influx of Ukrainian refugees into the county.
The main aims of the organisation were further stated in the presentation with the Miltown woman making it clear that “Our mission is to promote entrepreneurship across Clare county, to drive job creation, deliver accessible supports for growing businesses and act as a catalyst for a growing enterprise system across the county”.
Current projects under the remit of the county’s LEO were also showcased at the meeting, as well as the wide reaching scope of the organisation. Ms Mulvihill Kileen made reference to the “Great interaction in the room in terms of the supports that are available”, in relation to a meeting recently held in Scarriff on the establishment of a digi-hub for the East Clare village, similar to the one currently available in Ennistymon.
The cross-county approach of the Local Enterprise Office was further highlighted in relation to West Clare with the Development Officer further noting that “We’re now running business advice committees face to face back as far as Cross giving more of that face to face support to people who are looking to have a conversation”.
Having concluded the achievements of the LEO so far, attention turned to initiatives for the future of Clare.
Mrs. Mulvihill Kileen explained that “We’re looking at developing an engineering cluster, you’ll hear more about that later in the year” and stated that “competitiveness and digitisation” were key for small businesses looking to stay ahead of the curve and trade internationally.
“We will be running an event for council members later in the year where will give a full rundown of the benefits available with the LEO. Our target for this year is 105 jobs. This Autumn we’re launching a six week succession programme for people who want to exit a business whether that’s selling it on or passing it on”, the Development Officer continued.
The Miltown woman outlined that the LEO in collaboration with Limerick City and Council will be holding a “Global aerospace trade event”, for the Midwest in 2027, highlighting this as a key event for the creation of employment and investment in the region.
An enterprise village at the upcoming Irish Open in Doonbeg is also planned.
Mrs Mulvihill Kileen concluded by explaining the LEO’s business diversification strategy through the ‘carrots to soup’ model, highlighting the transformative effect the initiatives available to business owners can have.
“Mentoring training is for everyone and I want to get that message across. If you’re a farmer and you’re growing carrots we can give you capital grants and employment grants to turn that production facility into a working business”, she concluded.
