Fáilte Ireland has launched an open call for expressions of interest in its Investment Grant-Aid Scheme for private and community SMEs as part of the €68 million EU Just Transition Fund Regenerative Tourism and Placemaking Scheme for the Midlands region 2023-2026.
The Investment Grant-Aid Scheme for private and community SMEs is the initial part of the substantially funded Regenerative Tourism and Placemaking scheme to be delivered by Fáilte Ireland, as part of the EU Just Transition Fund.
Inclusive to the substantial funding to be allocated is €17million in grant-aid for private and community-based micro enterprises and SMEs in the wider Midlands area.
Welcoming the news, Athlone Chamber of Commerce stated that the scheme will invest in the sustainable development of tourism in the Midlands with the aim of diversifying the regional economy by creating jobs, supporting habitats and biodiversity and sustaining communities.
The scheme aims to transform tourism across eight counties in Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands by diversifying the local economy and providing new employment opportunities for workers and communities that were heavily dependent on peat.
Co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union, the EU Just Transition Fund Programme supports regions that are experiencing the negative impacts from the transition away from fossil fuel-intensive or greenhouse-gas-intensive industries, such as the use of peat for energy generation.
Under the Investment Grant-Aid Scheme for Private and Community SMEs there are five project categories that will be considered for funding:
Category 1: Development or Enhancement of Sustainable Visitor Experiences
Category 2: Development of Sustainable/Low Carbon Tourist Accommodation
Category 3: Capital Project Planning & Design
Category 4: Digital Transformation
Category 5: Accessibility enhancements to provide a more inclusive visitor experience.
Speaking upon the launch of the funding scheme, Fáilte Ireland CEO, Paul Kelly, noted that the significant investment would leave a lasting legacy of transformative change.
“We encourage private and community-based micro enterprises and SMEs to recognise the enormous potential of this scheme. We are now inviting them to express their interest in developing a tourism project that will help create more reasons for domestic and international tourists to visit the Midlands while also sustaining jobs, businesses and local communities.
“It is an unprecedented investment in tourism, and one that is going to have a tangible economic impact in Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands. Fáilte Ireland looks forward to working collaboratively with local tourism businesses and communities, the East and Midland Regional Authority (EMRA ), Bord na Móna, Local Authorities, and our strategic partners including Waterways Ireland, National Parks and Wildlife Service and Coillte to implement the Regenerative Tourism & Placemaking Scheme,” Mr Kelly stated.
Fáilte Ireland recognised the potential of tourism to generate employment for former peat harvesting based communities and developed a set of actions to be incorporated within the EU Just Transition Fund programme to create new enterprises and jobs by establishing the Midlands as an authentic regenerative tourism destination, based on the sustainable use of the peatlands and wetlands.
The Regenerative Tourism & Placemaking Scheme was developed to enhance the potential of the region as a place to live and work, regenerate regional towns and villages with world-class tourism and recreation infrastructure that can transform the economies of communities in these regional areas. It will support the transition of the Midlands to a carbon neutral destination through funding of sustainable tourism projects that are designed to have significant regenerative impacts on local communities and peatlands.
The purpose of the Investment Grant-Aid Scheme is to deliver grant-aid to private and community-based micro enterprises and SMEs to help them improve the quality of the visitor experience within the EU Just Transition Territory. The ambition is to attract more visitors, increase dwell time, and secure overnight stays. This will create new jobs in the sector and help grow the visitor economy.
Applications for the Investment Grant-Aid Scheme for Private & Community SMEs will be assessed by Fáilte Ireland, who will provide guidance on the scheme and offer direct support to applicants. Private and community-based micro enterprises and SMEs can find scheme guidelines, useful toolkits and how to register their interest in the scheme at on the Fáilte Ireland website.
