Invest in Meath

Meath - the place to invest

Learn more about the unparalleled opportunities offered by County Meath.

Location

Located to the north of Dublin on Ireland's eastern seaboard, County Meath offers industry an ideal mix of access to major transport and communications nodes, proximity to Ireland's leading third level educational institutions, a highly skilled and well educated workforce, high quality infrastructure, and freedom from the traffic congestion, housing shortages, and high costs associated with an urban location.

Four of Ireland's national primary routes (N1, N2, N3 & N4), soon to be upgraded to motorway status, traverse the county. Meath is easily accessible to Ireland's main ports and airport and also enjoys inter-city and commuter rail links to the capital. Meath is an ideal location for the development or re-location of your business.

Funding

Meath LEADER is a private limited company with a mission 'to provide the people of the county with the greatest possible engagement opportunities in the process of positive change and development.

Meath Leader

Tom Blake House
Bective Street
Kells
Co Meath
Ireland .

Telephone 046 9280790
Fax 046 9249338
Email: info@meathleader.ie
Web: www.meathleader.ie

Please log onto the Meath LEADER website to access information and guidelines for applying for funding for a tourism project.

The service sector

The service sector accounts for the largest share of the total business in Meath and it is also evidence of the available skilled workforce, the availability of infrastructure, particularly ICT/Broadband and an attractive work environment and a most accessible location. Meath occupies a land mass of 234,490 hectares (3.3% of the total area of the state) with a rapidly increasing population estimated to have risen to in excess of 131,000 people in 2002. It is estimated that the population of Meath is approximately 160,000 currently in 2006. Meath's close proximity to Dublin and its market of over 1.5 million people mean that for strategic Regional planning purposes, Meath is classified as part of the Greater Dublin Area.

Landscape

Meath enjoys a diverse low-lying topography, ranging from extensive rich pastures throughout the Boyne and Blackwater River Valleys, some Drumlin hills in the north of the county, tracts of peatlands and raised bog in the southwest and a short coastline of 12 kilometres in the east. The county has five Special Areas of Conservation (SPC's), one Special Protection area for Birds (SPA) along the Boyne estuary in addition to 22 proposed Natural Heritage areas (NHA's). Meath Landscape contains an extremely rich heritage of national monuments, justifying its claim as 'Ireland's Heritage Capital'. Best known are the internationally renowned passage tombs at Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth, all located in the valley of the river Boyne, and Loughcrew near Oldcastle in North Meath. For further information visit http://www.meathtourism.ie/. Other highly significant and important historical and heritage sites are to be found at Kells, Slane, Trim and Tara.

Meath is renowned for its rich pasture-lands which are capable of supporting a wide variety of farming types as less than 12% of the total landowners in considered marginal. There are over 5,000 farm enterprises in Meath. The average farm size (measured in both hectares and output levels) is well above the national average. Meath is also Ireland's second most important centre for the bloodstock industry.