Regional Development

Thursday, 19 June 2025

Questions (34, 36, 39, 54, 55, 80)

Aisling Dempsey

Question:

34. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment when a new mid east enterprise plan will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33033/25]

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Erin McGreehan

Question:

36. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment when a new northeast regional enterprise plan will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33043/25]

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Seán Fleming

Question:

39. Deputy Seán Fleming asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment when a new midlands regional enterprise plan will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33050/25]

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Peter 'Chap' Cleere

Question:

54. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment when a new southeast regional enterprise plan will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32998/25]

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Eamon Scanlon

Question:

55. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment when a new northwest regional enterprise plan will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33146/25]

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Michael Cahill

Question:

80. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment when a new southwest regional enterprise plan will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32982/25]

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Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment

I propose to take Questions Nos. 34, 36, 39, 54, 55 and 80 together.

Balanced regional development remains a Government priority. One central aim of the White Paper on Enterprise 2022-2030 is to support balanced regional enterprise development. My Department and its agencies contribute to this agenda in several ways, including through the nine Regional Enterprise Plans or REPs. These are bottom-up plans developed and led by regional stakeholders, which focus on collaborative initiatives to strengthen the enterprise ecosystem in each region.

As mentioned in response to a parliamentary question during the 20 February 2025 session, with agreement from the Regional Enterprise Plans National Oversight Group at its meeting of 25 April 2024, the current REPs have been extended for one year to end 2025. This extension provides an additional year for continued implementation of the current plans and time to consider the best approach to the development of successor plans throughout 2025.

There is a clear commitment in the new Programme for Government to publish and resource new Regional Enterprise Plans. Before we develop these new plans, I would like to assess our approach to date, set a clear framework for the future and engage all of the relevant stakeholders in each region.

An independent review of the Regional Enterprise Plan initiative is currently underway. The review began in January 2025 and the final report is due to be delivered by the end of this month. A steering group was established to oversee the review.

A Regional Enterprise Policy Statement is to be drafted in parallel and finalised after the review of the REP initiative. This statement intends to more clearly link the REPs with existing policies and initiatives; it will set out the framework and strategic agenda for future regional enterprise development.

Following publication of the policy statement in the second half of this year, attention will then turn to development of the next set of REPs. A defined process, taking account of the REP review results and policy statement, and involving consultation with regional stakeholders, will be conducted in each region. This process should lead to formulation of new Regional Enterprise Plans ready for launch in early 2026.