Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 April 2024
90. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will report on the implementation of the south-east regional enterprise plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16880/24]
View answerBalanced regional enterprise development is a key focus for me and this Government as reaffirmed in the White Paper on Enterprise. My Department contributes to this agenda in several ways, including through the development, implementation and oversight of nine Regional Enterprise Plans (REP).
The South-East REP is implemented at a regional level by a Steering Committee made up of stakeholders from Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford. Patsy Carney is the Chair of the South-East REP Steering Committee and is supported by interim Programme Manager based in the Ireland South-East Development Office.
My Department oversees the REPs at the national level. A meeting of the National Oversight Group for the REPs with Steering Committee Chairpersons is planned for Thursday 25 April where implementation across all REPs will be discussed.
Nine REP Mid-Term Progress Reports were recently published, which document implementation to the end of Q3 2023 for each plan, including the South-East. These reports were prepared by each regional Steering Committee and are available on my Department’s website.
Good progress has been made implementing the South-East REP. Some highlights include:
• LI4, a REDF-funded project that has the vision to transform the South-East and Ireland into a productivity hub for companies through Lean Industry 4.0, has now opened its LI4 Learning Studio at WorkLab, Waterford.
• Senan House, a state-of-the-art energy A-rated building at Enniscorthy Technology Park, has officially opened its doors housing both the GreenHub sustainable innovation hub, and the High-Performance Building Alliance, along with start-up supports and companies.
• A South-East Offshore Wind Partnership is now in place to enable meaningful engagement between the ports, the airport, local authorities, industry and enterprise agencies, alongside the Higher Education and Training Institutes and Regional Skills Forum and is working to maximise the economic benefit to the South-East in assisting Ireland achieve its Offshore Renewable Energy targets.
As the Deputy will be aware, my Department has secured up to €145 million for the Smart Regions Enterprise Innovation Scheme (SREIS) to support projects aligned to the REPs. This builds on the €126 million my Department has already allocated in regional enterprise funding. The South-East has been awarded over €8 million in approved funding for eight innovative enterprise projects under these regional enterprise funding schemes. This includes projects funded through the REISS Scheme to the value of €785,000. These projects are across the Engineering, Financial Services, Sustainability and GreenTech, and Life Sciences sectors. Many of these projects are now preparing further applications for funding from SREIS.
The first call of €35 million under the SREIS, which is co-funded under the European Regional Development Fund, is now open on the Enterprise Ireland website. I expect that there will be up to four calls under this fund over the coming years. I encourage innovative projects in the South-East to apply.
