7th April 2022
Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English TD, visited the Roscommon Local Enterprise Office (LEO) today where he met with council officials, members of the LEO team as well as some of their client companies.
The Minister was greeted at Áras an Chontae by Councillor Orla Leydon, Leas Cathaoirleach of Roscommon County Council, Head of Enterprise, Louise Ward as well as fellow Oireachtas members Minister of State Frank Feighan and Senators Aisling Dolan and Eugene Murphy. He also met with the LEO team, members of the Evaluation Committee and Local Authority Members and was briefed about developments in the county as well as future plans.
Minister English said:
“It is great to be here in Roscommon today and to learn about the work underway by the Council and the Local Enterprise Office and also to hear about their future plans. Throughout the country the support of LEOs has been vital for many local businesses, providing training, mentoring and other practical supports. With new Regional Enterprise Plans now in place the role of LEOs will be even more important and will help to drive growth and job creation in every county in Ireland.”
The Minister then met with some LEO client companies. Studio Meala, an animation studio based in Boyle, was launched in 2019 by Stephen Fagan, Jerry Twomey and Sean Cunningham. Studio Meala provide animation production services for many leading international studios, broadcasters and streaming platforms and are also developing a number of their own animation series. The business was this year’s County Enterprise Award Winner and will now represent the county at the National Enterprise Awards in Dublin in June.
Minister English also met with Niall O’Donoghue, owner of Pro Cloud. The company provide cloud, managed, and traditional IT services to corporate clients across Ireland and increasingly in export markets in a range of industries and sectors.
The Minster then visited LEO client company Mark Lohan Kitchens, who offer a range of traditional, contemporary, and modern kitchens and other fitted furniture projects. The company is now in the top 10 bespoke kitchen manufacturers in the country, employing 35 staff and is working with Enterprise Ireland to continue its growth in export markets.
Minister English concluded his Roscommon visit at Lidan Designs. The company was launched by Dan O’Brien and Liam Casey five years ago to commercialise their novel, air-tight, timber-frame modular building system. Their ultra-low energy modular buildings rank at the very top of the market in terms of build quality, energy efficiency, aesthetics, price and ease/speed of transportation and installation.
On the conclusion of his visit the Minister said:
“I am really impressed with the innovation and entrepreneurship I have seen here today in Roscommon. There is so much going on and across such a range of areas, from animation to IT, to craftsmanship and construction. It is great to see so much activity and creativity and the Government is keen to enable and support these businesses through the efforts of the LEO network, Regional Enterprise funding and many other local supports. This will ensure that we see balanced regional development and job creation throughout the country.”
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