Departmental Programmes

6. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment when the successor to the current regional enterprise plan for the west will be launched; and whether additional measures are being considered to support enterprise development in regional and rural areas. [67196/26]

The western regional enterprise plan has been a successful endeavour. Regional enterprise in the west has continued to go from strength to strength. However, the plan ended in 2024. I accept that it was extended to 2025 for an independent review. However, we are now in September 2026. When will we see a revised, updated and ambitious western regional enterprise plan?

I thank the Deputy for his question. Balanced regional development is a Government priority. The Department and its agencies contribute to this agenda in several ways, including through the regional enterprise plans, REPs. The REPs are bottom-up plans, developed and led by regional stakeholders, which focus on collaborative initiatives to strengthen the enterprise environment. Each of the nine REPs was tailored to reflect regional strengths and opportunities and aligned to national enterprise policy priorities such as decarbonisation and digitalisation. The most recent REPs ran from 2022 to the end of 2025, following agreement to extend them by one year to support implementation and to enable consideration of the future of the REPs. The western REP covers the counties of Galway, Mayo and Roscommon and was overseen by a steering committee that included the enterprise agencies, local enterprise offices, LEOs, local authorities, education and training institutions and private industry. The Department commissioned an independent review of the REP initiative last year. The review included significant engagement with regional stakeholders, analysis of the plans and implementation reports, and consideration of international approaches. It also provided recommendations and options for the future of the REPs. The final progress reports for the latest REPs will be published in the coming weeks and my consideration of these, along with the review’s findings, have informed my decision on the future approach to regional enterprise development. The approach will align regional enterprise priorities more closely with the regional spatial and economic strategies, RSESs, of the regional assemblies. This will strengthen the links between enterprise development, skills, infrastructure and wider regional planning, supporting a more integrated approach to regional enterprise development. A memorandum on the overall approach was submitted for the information of the Government in June of last year. My officials are currently working with Departments, agencies and authorities to develop a framework statement to give effect to this approach, whereby any future regional enterprise actions will operate as focused implementation programmes aligned with the RSESs.

I welcome the report and that the plan will be published in the coming weeks. That is a huge step forward and will allow us to take things to the next level in east Galway, the rest of Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. Let us consider the reality of what has been achieved in just the past two years with the Dexcom facility in Athenry. There are more IDA Ireland lands in east Galway from Athenry to Tuam and Loughrea. We want them to be unlocked and brought into use. The one request I have for the Minister of State is that, in advance of publishing the plan, when he reviews the western REP, he pleases ensure he does not hold back on ambition for what could be achieved in the west over the lifetime of the next plan. With that plan, what will be proposed in terms of new ideas, AI and climate and environment?

I thank the Deputy for his support and his ambition for the delivery of enterprise and business solutions to the west, especially Galway. Galway has been one of the major drivers of the success of the regional enterprise plans and the county has benefited significantly from closer collaboration across enterprise, education and innovation sectors. One only needs to look at the likes of the PorterShed, the Atlantic Technological University, ATU, and Platform 94 to see that. The ambition is to continue to support the life sciences sector, medical technology and engineering and for closer alignment between agencies and third level institutions. We are not standing still. We are currently working on getting the framework right, not simply on replacing the old enterprise plan. Project managers are located in each of the regions. They are now in situ in each of the local authorities are working with the private sector and State agencies to drive the regional enterprise framework statement and continue to deliver across the nine regions.

I welcome that commitment. It is important to say that we in Galway have an ability to deliver life sciences like no other area of the country. It has become what we are known for. Galway is seen as a medical devices and medical technology hub and we should pursue that by continuing to attract more talent from across the globe to that region. I do not need to explain this to the Minister of State, but none of that can be achieved without the adequate infrastructure. It would be remiss of me not to raise with the Minister of State that he should reach out to Galway County Council and Galway City Council to ensure they try to improve the traffic situation in Galway so all the employers there see the benefit of Government investment in common sense infrastructure that leads to a better quality of life for the people working in those factories.

That is a fair point. The new Planning and Development (Amendment) Act, along with the Critical Infrastructure Act will certainly unlock key large-scale infrastructure. There is no better example than the Galway ring road and other key infrastructure that will support the expansion of, not just County Galway, but the west as a whole. That includes the western rail corridor and many other significant strategic projects. Galway has a strong ecosystem, like Mayo, in medical technology and pharmaceuticals and in working with the likes of the enterprise agencies, including IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and the LEOs, we can continue to harness new start-ups. There has been a huge uptake in participants in the new frontiers programme and that has been of huge benefit in collaboration with the University of Galway and ATU. We need to continue to support that pipeline in the various accelerated programmes, which are delivering real jobs in Galway.