Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 49 and 55 together.

The Western Development Commission, WDC, was established on a statutory basis in 1999 as part of a response to the severe population decline in the western region at the time. The remit of the commission is to promote the economic and social development of the western region, covering counties Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo, Roscommon, Galway and Clare. The commission has achieved a lot since its establishment and I believe has an important role to play in the Government’s emphasis on achieving more effective regional development through initiatives such as the regional action plan for jobs, the action plan for rural development and the forthcoming national planning framework.

The Minister, Deputy Michael Ring, appointed a new board to the Western Development Commission in August 2017 and has delegated responsibility for oversight of the commission to me. I met the new chair and the acting CEO in November 2017. There is also ongoing engagement between my Department and the commission at executive level to deepen its involvement in the regional development agenda and benefit from its members' experience. In that context, the commission has been involved in an increasing number of initiatives. For example, it is represented on the monitoring committee for the action plan for rural development and the implementing committees that oversee the delivery of the action plans for jobs for the west and north-west regions. It is also represented on the task force that I chair to progress the development of an Atlantic economic corridor area along the western seaboard. It has been a key contributor to the sub-groups of the task force and also within the former Department on the Brexit process.

The WDC continues to implement initiatives to support the development of SMEs and emerging sectors in the western region. I recently launched a new €2 million fund for the commission to encourage the film, television, animation and games industry in the west, namely, the western regional audiovisual producers, WRAP, fund. I look forward to continuing to work with the new board as it seeks to support the regional development agenda.

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