Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 April 2018
45. Deputy Hildegarde Naughton asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the progress that has been made in Galway city and county under the regional action plan for jobs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16187/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince becoming Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, I have made jobs and enterprise in the regions my top priority.
The Regional Action Plan for Jobs initiative is a central pillar of the Government’s ambition to create 200,000 new jobs by 2020, 135,000 of which are outside of Dublin. A key objective of each of the 8 regional plans is to have a further 10 to 15 per cent at work in each region by 2020, with the unemployment rate of each region not more than one percentage point greater than the national average.
The West Regional Action Plan for Jobs has been a key policy response for supporting employment growth across Galway, Mayo and Roscommon, with public and private stakeholders currently engaged in driving the range of innovative and practical actions set out in the Plan.
The West Action Plan for Jobs has been embraced within the region and the efforts by stakeholders and businesses in the region are paying off: 15,500 more people are in employment in the West from Q1 2015 to Q2 2017, representing significant progress towards the 25,000 target for 2020 as set out in the plan. At the end of 2017, the unemployment rate for the West was 5.9% - below the State average of 6.1%.
Actions under the Plan that have benefitted Galway City and County include the launch of a Women’s Entrepreneurship project driven by GMIT; NUIG’s new Springboard postgrad in Tech Innovation; and the delivery of a Business Plan to develop a Film Fund for the region.
In 2017, both Enterprise Ireland and IDA reported job increases in Galway, with increases in the West at 7% and 5% respectively. The LEO in Galway supported 254 client companies in 2017, with 1,039 in employment, and recorded a net increase of 95 new jobs in micro-enterprises during the year.
To support the ambition, goals, and implementation of the Regional Action Plans for Jobs, last May my Department launched the competitive €60m Regional Enterprise Development Fund delivered through Enterprise Ireland. One project in the West secured funding under Stream One of the Fund which was for major regional, multi-regional or national sectoral initiatives, attracting grants of €2m up to €5m per project. The project, BIA Innovator Campus, is a Galway based initiative to encourage food entrepreneurship and innovation. The centre is expected to create 360 jobs within 3 years in over 40 businesses while unlocking far reaching innovation ecosystem benefits.
Building on the progress and momentum of collaboration achieved to date through the Regional Action Plans is my priority. On Monday the 16th April last I met with the Chairs of the Regional APJ committees and other regional stakeholders, and together we have started a process to refresh and refocus all the Regional Plans to ensure their relevance and impact out to 2020. At the same event, I also announced the opening of the Second Call under the Regional Enterprise Development Fund which will make a further €30 million in funding available for successful regional project proposals under a competitive process.
I look forward to working further with the regional stakeholders in the West to ensure we deliver the employment targets for 2020 set out under the Regional Plans.
