Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Western Development Commission was established in 1997 as a response to the severe population decline of the west and it was put on a statutory basis in 1999 under the Western Development Commission Act 1998. The aim of the Western Development Commission is to promote, foster and encourage economic and social development in the western region, which covers counties Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo, Roscommon, Galway and Clare.

The Western Development Commission continues its work in respect of five strategic goals, namely, to contribute to balanced regional development by ensuring that the western region maximises its full potential for economic and social development; to promote the benefits of living, working and doing business in the west; to support the sustainable economic and social development of the rural economy; to provide risk capital to small and medium enterprises, SMEs, and social enterprises; and to operate the Western Development Commission as a competent and effective organisation. My Department currently has no plans to roll out a replica Western Development Commission model in other regions.

With regard to the capital fund allocated to the Western Development Commission to support regional economic development in the west, it recently submitted proposals, which I am currently considering, on how the additional capital funding might be best utilised to advance economic development in the region. I have arranged to meet the Western Development Commission in the next week to discuss its proposals in detail.

See this speech in context