Meath Couunty Council win EU Award
Tuesday 19 September 2006
Meath County Council have been selected as the Irish winner of the EU's European Enterprise Awards scheme and go forward to represent Ireland at the Europe-wide finals next December.  |
Meath County Council have welcomed the news that their Economic Development campaign has been selected as the Irish winner of the EU's European Enterprise Awards competition. |
Meath's campaign, entitled “Hidden Resources”, was initiated by the Council's Economic Development Office in 2004, and has achieved significant successes to date:
- creation of over 1,000 new jobs (including the recent announcement by Quinn-direct)
- investment worth some €15m to install major Broadband infrastructure in nine towns in the county
- creation of a unique Skills Database through the website, www.workinmeath.ie, in conjunction with the Meath County Enterprise Board
- identification of strategic locations for business investment within the county
- recognition of Meath as a business location.
The County's Economic Development Officer, Frank Fitzmaurice, said: “ We implemented this campaign in order to raise awareness of Meath as a location for business investment. We have many advantages here, including our large skilled labour pool, our proximity to Dublin airport and our attractive cost base relative to the city. Our challenge was to communicate these advantages to the business community. We are delighted to have been so successful, which encourages us to continue our efforts in this area”
Hugh Reilly, Chief Executive Officer with the Meath County Enterprise Board, also welcomed the news. " We have worked very well with the Economic Development Office to identify the skills pool available in the county. We have also worked with agencies such as FAS and Enterprise Ireland to find ways to tap into that skills pool and also to help people to get access to skills development programmes. The Award recognises that we are at the leading edge here in Meath in terms of taking action locally among ourselves to work towards achieving our common goal of economic development for the county"
Tom Dowling, County Manager for Meath, said: “ Meath County Council is proud to have been selected as the Irish winner of the European Enterprise Award for 2006. Attracting business investment into our county is a top priority for the Council, and we are delighted with the results of our campaign so far. Our Economic Development Office has implemented several imaginative and creative actions since it's formation that have resulted in real benefits for Meath. In fact, our campaign has been so effective that we have been approached by local authorities from all over Ireland who are interested in the approach we have adopted. I'm not at all surprised that we have won this award” he concluded.
Cathaoirleach of Meath County Council, Councillor Jimmy Cudden, congratulated the County Council on their achievement. “ I wish to congratulate the Manager and the staff involved in the Council's Economic Development campaign” he said. “Winning this Award reflects very well on the Council and on the strategy we adopted in setting up the Economic Development Office, and it gives our campaign a further boost. It also highlights the value of various local agencies working together, in this case the Meath County Enterprise Board who worked closely with the Council's Economic Development Office on various aspects of the Campaign”
The Award will be presented to Meath County Council at a function in Trim on Wednesday evening, September 20th.