Tánaiste officially opens ‘The Edge’ futuristic hub facility
A new state-of-the-art, eco-positive facility geared to kick-starting new entrepreneurship in Tallaght was officially opened by Tanaiste, Leo Varadkar on Wednesday morning.
‘The Edge’ located near Tallaght village and just off the M50, will provide 20 offices of different sizes, 12 dedicated desks, 20 hot-desks and sound-proof booths for zoom calls.
Key features include a ‘Black Box’ meeting facility with high-end technology for board meetings, pod-casting, video production and theatre-style events. Solar panels, heat pumps and a heat recovery system with air exchange is designed to deliver carbon neutral heating and power.
The centre has been developed by Partas, a long established social enterprise that has supported both private and social enterprise jobs across the broad Tallaght area since 1984.
Tánaiste, Leo Varadkar said: “It’s fantastic to officially open the Edge incubator hub here in Tallaght, which is aimed at start-ups and SMEs in South Dublin County. There’s a strong focus on innovation and creativity and the hope is to attract a new generation into business, including people just starting out on their careers.
“I am delighted that my own Department has provided funding of almost €1.4m for this exciting project through our Regional Enterprise Development Fund and Regional Enterprise Transition Scheme.
“Partas has redesigned the older enterprise centre to give it a fresh feel and to make the most of the available space. So there’s space for hotdesking and co-working, there are single private pods and multi-person units, and the hangout area in which we are launching this great facility.
“The Edge is conveniently located for the M50 corridor. I’m confident it has a very bright future, and will be the launchpad for many bright careers.”
Partas CEO, John Kearns, recently appointed as expert advisor on social enterprise to the European Commission, said that ‘The Edge’ is “aimed at changing the face of how new business ventures are supported and encouraged, by combining established high-end entrepreneurship with start up ventures and offering ‘gold-standard’ eco-positive facilities.
“The broader Tallaght area, which in the past has experienced high levels of unemployment and deprivation, is now a growing, vibrant and dynamic business centre. This development represents the cutting edge of this emerging entrepreneurial confidence of the area and its people,” he said.
Clients already on site include Alexandra Hambling – an interpreter for the Nordic Countries, who worked as interpreter for French President, Emmanuel Macron during the recent COP26 in Glasgow, translating from her office in The Edge via high speed broadband.
The Echo Newspaper, the only sold local newspaper in Dublin with a weekly readership of over 30,000, has also based its offices in The Edge
Work on the centre, which also contains a boutique-style coffee lounge with local artisan food, began in 2020.
See photos on page 54 (The Echo 27 Oct 2022).
