Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 May 2024
103. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment for a report on the progress made under the midlands regional enterprise plan; the plans for the future funding of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23093/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraBalanced regional enterprise development is a key focus for me and this Government as set out 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 (REPs).
The Midlands REP is implemented at a regional level by a Steering Committee made up of stakeholders from Longford, Laois, Offaly and Westmeath. Dr Anne Cusack is Chair of the Midlands REP Steering Committee which last met on 17 May 2024 where updates on implementation were shared with members.
My Department oversees implementation of the REPs at the national level. A meeting of the National Oversight Group for the REPs with Steering Committee Chairpersons took place on 25 April 2024, where the REP Chairs provided feedback on implementation.
Nine REP Progress Reports were recently published, which document implementation to the end of Q3 2023 for each plan, including the Midlands. These reports were prepared by the regional Steering Committees and are available on my Department’s website. Good progress has been made implementing actions across the Midlands REP.
Some highlights from the Midlands REP include:
• Fifteen projects in the Midlands have been awarded a combined €18 million from the European Union's Just Transition Fund programme with the Midlands Regional Enterprise Plan ‘Pathway for Just Transition’, being awarded almost €4 million. The remaining funding was shared across 13 projects, including a number of co-working hubs, renewable energy and emissions projects and a film project.
• The Midlands REP has established a Network and Cluster Exchange Forum to formalise strategic connections between networks and clusters, open channels of communication and optimise the benefits from shared opportunities locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. The forum is also intended to act as a conduit to feed into regional and national policy in the Smart Specialisation and clustering space.
• A new Midlands Food and Drink Directory was launched this week. The new Directory will be a go-to guide for the regional food and drink producers in the Midlands and will be hosted on the Midlands Ireland website.
The REPs are collaborative plans bringing together a range of stakeholders, from the enterprise agencies to higher education institutions and local authorities. Projects under the REPs may draw on a range of funding sources, from EU level to funding provided directly by local authorities and elsewhere in central government, such as schemes administered by the Department of Rural and Community Development and Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.
My Department is one of the main sources of support for REP projects and has provided significant funding to develop regional enterprise ecosystems through the Regional Enterprise Development Fund, Border Enterprise Development Fund and other schemes administered by Enterprise Ireland. These Enterprise Ireland funding schemes have helped drive implementation of the Midlands Regional Enterprise Plan.
My Department has secured up to €145 million for the Smart Regions Enterprise Innovation Scheme, which will support projects aligned to the Regional Enterprise Plans. The first call of €35 million under this scheme, which is co-funded under the European Regional Development Fund, is open on the Enterprise Ireland website. I hope to announce successful projects under this first call in the coming months. I expect that there will be further calls under this scheme over the coming years, which will provide multi-annual funding for key projects aligned to the Regional Enterprise Plans.
Funding is a core issue for delivery of the REPs and the approach to funding will be kept under consideration by my Department and partners in the REP process.
