Minister Burke recently published a report authored by the cross departmental Finance for Scale Ups Working Group, chaired by his department, on the use of finance as a catalyst to develop a scaling ecosystem in Ireland.

The Group’s aim, in line with the White Paper on Enterprise, was to develop actionable recommendations to support high potential firms to access scaling finance, which would in turn allow them to internationalise and increase exports.

Following a domestic consultation of the Irish scaling ecosystem and a review of peer countries, the Working Group provided three policy recommendations to help foster and develop the Irish scaling ecosystem:

• Ensure that scaling finance is available by introducing and promoting funds that will provide scaling finance options to founders and startups
• Investigate options for pension fund and institutional investor participation in scaling equity funds and encourage corporate venturing in Ireland
• Review the State’s tax model and design instruments that incentivize investment into scaling companies

The report of the Finance for Scale-ups Working Group also calls for the establishment of an implementation committee to develop practical actions. That work will begin immediately, under the remit of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

The sod has been turned on Diageo’s new €200 million state-of-the-art carbon neutral brewery in Littleconnell, Newbridge, Co. Kildare. The new facility will brew lagers and ales including Rockshore, Harp, Hop House 13, Smithwick’s, Kilkenny and Carlsberg. With a capacity of 2 million hectolitres, it will be the second largest brewing operation in Ireland after St. James’s Gate and support the future growth of Diageo Ireland’s beer brands.

The state-of-the-art brewery will be powered with 100% renewable energy and will harness the latest process technology to minimize overall energy and water consumption. The target date for the brewery to begin production is 2026 and it will facilitate the growth of overall beer exports from Ireland. It will also facilitate enhanced capacity for the production of the fast-growing Guinness 0.0 at the traditional home of Guinness at St. James’s Gate in Dublin.

The Minister of State for Agriculture and TD for Kildare South, Martin Heydon, joined senior leaders for the turning of the sod event in Littleconnell, to express the Government’s full support for the brewery that will support up to 1000 jobs both onsite and offsite during the construction phase of the brewery. The new brewery has also received crucial support from the IDA and Enterprise Ireland.