The Government has announced plans to make up to €60m available to help businesses to grow outside of the capital.

The new Regional Enterprise Development Fund plans to deliver economic growth by supporting, significant collaborative regional initiatives to build on specific industry sectoral strengths and improve enterprise capability, thereby driving job creation.

These projects can apply under these four categories:

• Major Change Projects - €2m up to €5m per project
• Regionally Significant Projects - €250,000 up to €2m per project
• Local & Community Enterprise Development  Projects - €50,000 up to €250,000 per project
• Industry Clusters - €50,000 up to €250,000 per project

Jobs Minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor commented on the initiative, "The Regional Action Plans aim to ensure that regional Ireland gets its fair share of economic growth and investment. I want to see collaborative projects that will boost the regions by supporting enterprise and creating jobs. Through this fund, I am delighted to be backing local stakeholders to drive their own futures by putting forward their own innovative proposals to deliver sustainable employment."

CEO of Enterprise Ireland Julie Sinnamon said, "Supporting Enterprise development is a key role of Enterprise Ireland. This fund will provide an important infrastructural mechanism to drive growth in developing enterprise in every region.

"The fund will also support the development of industry clusters which will facilitate knowledge transfer, innovation and collaboration among organisations. These are important drivers of enterprise growth and job creation, and we look forward to supporting more regionally-based companies through this initiative," she added.

Details of the competitive process are available on Enterprise Ireland’s website - and applications will close on August 18th.