Environmental Schemes
Dail Éireann — 2025-09-18
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Catherine Callaghan (FG), Carlow-Kilkenny

I thank the Minister of State. I welcome the funding that has been spent in this important area. In the most recent round of funding, small commercial start-ups and SMEs dominated the list of companies that had been awarded funding with only two, The Rediscovery Centre and We Make Good, accurately described as community enterprises. While these commercial start-up contributions to the industrial transition to circularity are welcome, and indeed, go a long way to making the changes in mindset that the Minister of State has outlined his answer, there are non-profit social enterprises, such as ones I have visited in County Carlow, including the Be Kind Project, supported by Carlow County Development Partnership and the proposed midlands food retribution hub, which is a joint collaboration between Kilkenny LEADER Partnership and the Clean Technology Centre. They are just two local community enterprises in my constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny that could benefit not only from the CEIGS, but could also spread awareness of the circularity principles in their communities. While funding remains at a constant level, it is hard for these types of firms to make their case against commercial start-ups with large economic potential. Is consideration being given to expanding the grants going forward?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-09-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:00:58+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-09-18