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O’Brien Fine Foods announces €14m development at Timahoe facility


O’Brien Fine Foods, producer of cooked meats and breakfast products under the Brady Family and Rudds brands, announced a €14m development at its Co Kildare facility.  

The 8,000 sq m expansion will create 40 jobs, with a further 150 jobs created during construction



Pictured, L-R: Michael Cantwell, Enterprise Ireland; Bill O'Brien, Chairman, O'Brien Fine Foods; Minister Simon Coveney; John O'Brien, Managing Director, O'Brien Fine Foods


O’Brien Fine Foods has announced details of a €14m development at its ham processing facility in Timahoe, Co Kildare.

The announcement was officially welcomed by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD, at the Co Kildare facility last week.

O’Brien Fine Foods is a leading producer of cooked meats under the Brady Family brand, and breakfast meats under the Rudds brand.

The planned 8,000 sq m expansion at the Timahoe facility – which is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland – is expected to more than double operational capacity, creating an additional 40 full time jobs.

This will bring the total number of jobs at Timahoe from 270 to 310 over the next two years. 

A further 150 jobs will be created during the construction phase. 

John O’Brien, Managing Director at O’Brien Fine Foods, said: “It is our ambition to become the leading producer in the cooked meats sector and today’s announcement is an important step in this process. 

“Not only will the investment in our facility significantly increase our operational capacity, but it will also improve our efficiency, expand our production capabilities to other proteins and positively impact our sustainability credentials. 

“Most importantly, this is all underpinned by important job creation in the local area.”

Mr O’Brien also cited the company’s important relationship with Irish suppliers, saying: 

“We have a strong track record in the cooked meats sector, and pride ourselves on producing 100% Irish, Bord Bia-approved pork products. We work with Irish suppliers with whom we have long-standing relationships. In today’s marketplace, we recognise that provenance and quality is of the utmost importance, which, in turn, drives growth and demand for our products.”

The announcement was welcomed by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD, said: “The food and drink industry has been a driving force in our economic recovery since 2009. I am delighted to welcome continued growth in this important sector with family businesses like O’Brien Fine Foods contributing to the growth of this, our most valuable indigenous industry, with their own ambitious expansion plans. 

“Brady Family Ham has been in business for almost 40 years, and produced on this site in Co Kildare for over 30. The company is an important part of the local community, as well as a significant employer in the local area. I welcome the additional employment that this development will create, and am delighted to see the business go from strength to strength.”

As well as being a significant employer in the area, O’Brien Fine Foods are very active in the local community, sponsoring Kildare GAA county hurling and football teams. 

The expansion at Timahoe is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland. 

CEO Julie Sinnamon said: “Companies in the food sector can make a significant impact in a relatively short period of time with expansion into export markets; a key impact of this is job creation in local communities. This is what O’Brien Fine Foods have achieved and I would like to congratulate them on this new investment at Timahoe. Enterprise Ireland will continue to work with the company and the wider food sector to develop overseas business and, ultimately, create further employment in Ireland.”

The Timahoe facility produces both Brady Family and own label cooked meats for the delicatessen and pre-packed markets. Construction at the facility has commenced, with work expected to be completed in June 2016.  

The company currently employs a total of 325 people between its facilities in Timahoe, Co Kildare and Birr, Co Offaly

€3m Accelerator Development Scheme - call for expressions of interest


The first competitive initiative to be launched under the €40m competitive regional jobs fund was announced last week.  

Up to €3m is being made available for investment with accelerator managers to increase the number of accelerators in the regions outside of Dublin



The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, announced that up to €3m is being made available for investment with accelerator managers to increase the number of accelerators in the regions outside of Dublin, and issued an open competitive call to stakeholders to signal their interest in establishing accelerators.

The €3m Scheme is the first competitive initiative to be launched under the €40m competitive regional jobs fund announced by the Government on Friday 15th January. It is targeted that a further €3m will be leveraged with additional private sector investment to support this entrepreneurship initiative.

The funding has been provided by the Department of Jobs, through Enterprise Ireland. The launch of this competitive call is a key action under the Action Plan for Jobs 2016 targeting an increase in the number and quality of Irish start-ups that can create regional jobs through winning business at home and overseas.

Making the announcement Minister Bruton said: “Jobs are growing in every region right across the country, but they are growing faster in some regions than in others.  A key part of our action plan for jobs is accelerating jobs growth right across the country, and a key part of this is encouraging more start-ups in every region. Start-ups create two thirds of all new jobs, and if we can support more businesses to start-up and more businesses to survive, this will make a major impact on the level of job-creation in each region.

“Today’s announcement is the first competitive call for expressions of interest under the Accelerator Development Scheme which aims ultimately to create more accelerator spaces where start-ups can locate their businesses and access supports around the country. I encourage business-people and other stakeholders in every region to get involved in this initiative".

Enterprise Ireland is inviting expressions of interests from domestic and international stakeholders with the capital and the relevant expertise to make this initiative a success.

Julie Sinnamon, CEO of Enterprise Ireland, commented: “The National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship noted that a key challenge is to develop the regional spread of start-up activity by enhancing the start-up environment outside Dublin. It also noted that this will include working to develop targeted accelerators where gaps exist to enhance the quality of start-ups, with a particular focus on the regional start-up ecosystem. This Scheme has been specifically designed to meet that challenge and it forms a core part of Enterprise Ireland’s strategic objective of supporting the creation of a greater number of successful start-ups across the country”.

Enterprise Ireland is interested in funds that will support entrepreneurship outside of Dublin in key strategic sectors including; Food, Agritech, ICT, Cleantech, Lifesciences, Financial Services, Internationally Traded Services, and Manufacturing.

The scheme will be marketed over the coming weeks and deadline for expressions of interest is 3pm on 31st March 2016. Further information can be found at

€5m allocated to Health Innovation Hub Ireland



A pioneering partnership between private sector companies and the health service to develop groundbreaking Irish healthcare products and research has been announced with direct financial support being provided by Enterprise Ireland. 


A pioneering partnership between private sector companies and the health service to develop groundbreaking Irish healthcare products and research and use them to benefit Irish patients has been set up by the Government.

Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton and Minister for Health Leo Varadkar have announced €5 million in funding over five years for the Health Innovation Hub. The Hub has already shown its value and fostered a number of innovative healthcare products and services since it was set up on a pilot basis in 2012 based in University College Cork.

The Health Innovation Hub will be a win-win for businesses, the health service, and for job-creation:

  • Innovative Irish healthcare companies will for the first time be able to easily access the health service to test their products and services, increasing the chances of developing commercial ideas and creating jobs; 
  • The health service will have easy access to innovative companies who can provide solutions to the problems that it faces, making it cheaper and easier to deliver better health-care to more patients.

The initiative has massive potential for Ireland’s burgeoning healthtech sector, and for improving healthcare services and outcomes for patients. It has already supported 23 projects involving 27 companies including: 

  • an online tool for GPs to monitor the physical activity of patients via a smartphone or wearable devices;
  • scheduling services to improve patient flow;
  • infection control and hygiene management systems.

And it has helped Irish-based companies to sell their technology abroad:

  • Abtran, who were testing an electronic GP referral system were able to use the knowledge gained to tender for a similar service in a UK Trust;
  • Radisens, who were validating point of care testing equipment, have now closed a contract with a Tier‐1 strategic customer for Troponin development. Radisens secured a significant ESA contract valued at €1m to develop an innovative blood testing device for use by astronauts on board the International Space Station and on various human spaceflight missions;
  • Lincor Solutions tested bedside units to provide entertainment, education and access to clinical data. Access to clinical data provides the clinical team with more information at patient bedside and can improve patient satisfaction.

Speaking at the announcement, Minister Bruton said: “The Health Innovation Hub was identified as a Disruptive Reform in the Action Plan for Jobs and I am delighted that we have now progressed to establishing the Hub at the national level.   We have combined exports from our lifesciences and ICT sectors of over €140 billion annually and the strengths of our enterprise base can be leveraged to deliver much needed innovation into our health system and at the same time sustain and create more jobs in these sectors.

“The commitment by Government to a facility such as the Health Innovation Hub also sends out a very strong message to international companies considering investing in Ireland that we are committed to developing even stronger links between the health and enterprise sectors and the high level R&D driving each sector. As part of our long term plan this will help turn good ideas into good jobs and ultimately make a major contribution in a drive towards full employment. ”

Minister Varadkar said: “Often when we talk about health, the discussion only focuses on the cost to the Exchequer. If you look at things in the round, health actually makes an enormous contribution to the economy. More than 100,000 people are employed in the public health sector and as many again with private healthcare providers, insurers, pharmaceutical companies, medical devices, and in research and development. The life sciences sector accounts for a lot of our export revenue and is a major source of inward investment. The Health Innovation Hub is an opportunity to build on this by creating linkages between the health service and industry to develop new products and services that we can use to improve our own health service at home and sell as products and services abroad. It's also a good example of joined-up Government as it involves two Government Departments, two Government agencies and the universities.”

The Health Innovation Hub had been funded as a pilot project and following evaluation of the pilot, the Government decided to scale the project up to the national level with direct financial support being provided by Enterprise Ireland and in-kind support being provided by the Health Service Executive including dedicated staff. Following a competitive process a consortium led by University College Cork, with partners including Cork Institute of Technology, Trinity College Dublin and the National University of Ireland Galway, was appointed to host Health Innovation Hub Ireland.

A new Hub Director will now be appointed, who will guide the Hub through the next five years. The first call for proposals will be made later this year. A Stakeholder Advisory Group will also be set up to act as a forum between suppliers and users.

Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland commented: “Ireland’s strengths in ICT combine well with expertise in traditional healthcare and medical technology and many of our indigenous medtech businesses are leading international players in their areas of specialist expertise. Enterprise Ireland is committed to supporting collaboration opportunities between the health system and enterprise sector in order to innovate and internationalise healthcare technologies.  The Health Innovation Hub will improve the efficiency of the commercialisation process of new technologies, products and services, benefitting the health sector and society as a whole”.

Soundwave acquired by music streaming service Spotify


Irish start-up Soundwave announced last week that it has been acquired by music streaming platform Spotify.  

Soundwave has been supported by Enterprise Ireland since its foundation in 2012 as a High Potential Start Up (HPSU)



The Soundwave Team with Actor Stephen Fry
Pictured, L-R: Brendan O'Driscoll, Soundwave; Aidan Sliney, Soundwave; Stephen Fry, Actor; Craig Watson, Soundwave


Irish start-up Soundwave, the leading mobile music-discovery start-up, announced last week that it has been acquired by music streaming platform Spotify.  Soundwave has been supported by Enterprise Ireland since its foundation in 2012 as a High Potential Start Up (HPSU) and worked with Enterprise Ireland’s North American and China offices as part of its international expansion.  A key role of Enterprise Ireland is to work with start-up companies with international potential.

The company has achieved great success with its Soundwave app, which has been downloaded over 1.5 million times across 190 countries in 14 languages.  Since its launch, the Soundwave product has been voted by Apple as “Best Innovation in Music” and has been permanently positioned globally by Google in the Android “Editors Choice” sections alongside only 50 other apps out of over 1.5 million.

Quoting Winston Churchill on the Soundwave website, “This isn’t the end. This isn’t even the beginning of the end. However, this is the end of the beginning”, the Soundwave Team said:

"The music industry is changing, and it's changing fast. We think now is the perfect time for Soundwave to join forces with Spotify, the #1 music streaming service in the world and the perfect home for us to continue our mission.  We owe our gratitude to a lot of people for helping us reach this milestone today & we’re excited. But we’re even more excited about hitting our next milestone and the one after that again".

Competitive Start Fund - call closing soon


The call for CSF applications for those active in the Manufacturing & Internationally Traded Services sectors will close at 3pm on Wednesday 27th January 2016.

The following subsectors are included: Internet, Games, Apps, Mobile, SaaS, Cloud Computing, Enterprise Software, Lifesciences, Cleantech and Industrial Products

The call for applications for those active in the Manufacturing & Internationally Traded Services sectors including the following subsectors: Internet, Games, Apps, Mobile, SaaS, Cloud Computing, Enterprise Software, Lifesciences, Cleantech and Industrial Products opened on Wednesday 13 January 2016 and will close at 3pm on Wednesday 27th January 2016.

The purpose of the Competitive Start Fund is to accelerate the growth of start-up companies that have the capability to succeed in global markets. The fund is designed to enable those companies reach key commercial and technical milestones, for example:

  • Evaluate overseas market opportunities and reach firm conclusions regarding the viability of the proposed business.
  • Build a prototype.
  • Secure a reference site.
  • Develop a market entry plan for exploiting international opportunities.
  • Secure partnership deal or strategic alliance.
  • Identify suitable channels to international markets.
  • Secure third party investment e.g. business angel, Venture Capital.
Late applications will not be accepted. This fund is open to applications from early stage companies who meet the eligibility criteria. All applications to the fund must be made via the Enterprise Ireland Online Application System - click here for full details: Competitive Start Fund 



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Featured Article
Showcase 2016

More than 5,000 trade buyers from over 20 countries are attending Showcase 2016, one of Ireland's largest international trade shows. Celebrating its 40th year, Showcase has established itself as the must-see event for retailers to source unique Irish design.

Over 450 exhibitors across Fashion, Jewellery, Home & Giftware have unveiled thousands of high quality products, many of which are unique to the show. 





Showcase, Ireland’s International Creative Expo at the RDS in Dublin, was officially opened by the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton TD on Sunday.  The annual fair, which is run by the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland, attracts trade visitors from all over the world each year, driven by ongoing direct marketing in partnership with Enterprise Ireland’s network of offices abroad.  Showcase generates up to €20 million in sales orders over the four days of the show, making it a critical event in sustaining Ireland’s vibrant design and craft sector.  Showcase 2016 sees over 450 exhibitors across Fashion, Jewellery and Home & Giftware unveil thousands of high quality products, many of which are unique to the show. 

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, met with trade buyers from companies including QVC and University of Rotterdam when he visited Showcase yesterday.  He also met with established Irish designers, manufacturers and craftspeople from across Ireland and emerging Irish entrepreneurs supported by his Department through their Local Enterprise Office (LEO) who are participating in the Enterprise Zone at the show. Showcase, which celebrates its 40th year this year, is one of the country’s largest international trade fairs, welcoming over 5,000 buyers from Ireland and more than 20 countries including the UK, North America, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and UAE. 

The LEOs are supporting 97 individual designers and craftspeople from 22 counties within the dedicated Enterprise Zone area.

Commenting as he visited the showcase yesterday, Minister Bruton said: “Since their establishment in April 2014, the LEOs have been a great addition to the suite of supports for start-ups and small businesses in Ireland. Helping micro and small craft and design companies take part in major trade events like Showcase, is just one of the supports available to the sector through the Local Enterprise Offices.

“From my meetings with buyers here at Showcase, it is clear that there is a strong appetite internationally for the work of Irish designers and makers, especially following the year-long Irish Design 2015 initiative. Our design and craft sector is innovative and creative and its contribution to jobs, exports, and tourism is very significant. This annual trade show plays a crucial role in helping Irish companies develop their business and expand their client base, particularly in the export market, which is a central tenet of our Action Plan for Jobs. Since the first Action Plan was launched more than 135,000 extra people are at work, hitting our target 21 months ahead of schedule. With strong implementation of our solid plan, we can see a continuation of the progress we have seen and keep the recovery going.”

According to Stephen Hughes, Consumer Retail Manager, Enterprise Ireland: "Showcase is a valuable route to international markets for exporting Irish companies in the design and craft sectors. This year Enterprise Ireland's teams at home and abroad will deliver over 200 quality international buyers and journalists to Showcase, many who are visiting the show for the first time. The calibre of international buyers attracted to Showcase by Enterprise Ireland is truly impressive and a testament to the quality and exceptional design that Irish consumer companies have to offer on a global stage. We look forward to welcoming new and returning international buyers from markets as diverse as Canada, France and the UAE. Our ambition is to showcase what is new and innovative in Irish design, craft and craftsmanship and, ultimately, to win export orders."

Karen Hennessy, Chief Executive of the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland (DCCoI) said: “Over the last 40 years, Showcase has established itself as a professional, world class trade fair.  The strength of the show lies in offering visitors a unique opportunity to see the very latest quality, design-led work emerging from Ireland each year.  The designers and makers participating in the show are encouraged to focus on innovation, new product development and craftsmanship and their work keeps both Irish and international buyers coming back to Showcase year after year.  Over the four days of the show, we will see sales orders of up to €20 million being placed, making this annual fair critical to the exhibiting small and medium sized enterprises, particulary those who have the ambition to expand their international presence.  Together with our colleagues in Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Office, we want to support talented Irish designers and makers and give them the greatest opportunities to compete and win in competitive markets both here in Ireland and abroad.”

Showcase 2016 runs until Wednesday 27th January and is for trade attendance only. For further details on the event and to register to attend, please visit: www.showcaseireland.com 

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