Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I am thankful this Topical Issue matter has been selected. I am glad the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, is taking it because he, the Taoiseach and I and members of the board of the Ireland West regional airport met recently at the airport. I was concerned in relation to some of the issues raised with us.

As the Minister of State is aware, there has been a strategic development zone there. The Government has designated it. The problem is that while the land is there, nothing has happened with it over several years. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle comes from County Galway and I was glad to see that recently the IDA bought land there. It is not zoned and has no planning permission, but it is a substantial amount of land. I cannot understand why the same IDA could not come in and try to find something to be done with the land at Ireland West Airport, especially when it is zoned and there would be no difficulty with planning. I would like to see the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and Government and State agencies come together to consider this matter. The Taoiseach said at the meeting that this was something he would examine.

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As a Mayo man in that Department, I know the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, will make sure that the high-profile meeting will take place. It is a wonderful opportunity for regional development. It is a wonderful opportunity to have a place that is zoned where industrialists can come in and create jobs immediately.

Last week I tabled parliamentary questions to find out how many times IDA Ireland visited Mayo last year. I was not very pleased with the answer. It was not 20, 15 or ten times. IDA Ireland came to visit Mayo once last year. Tonight, I want to tell the Minister of State and the Government that it is time the Government was serious about this regional airport. It has done very well. I am sure the Minister of State will concur with me when I compliment Joe Gilmore and his team, the staff who work in the airport, Ryanair and the other companies that use the airport. It has been a tremendous success. It came through a very difficult time with Covid and it is bouncing back. Almost 800,000 people went through the airport last year. I would advise anybody from the region that instead of going to Dublin Airport, where we saw the chaos last year, to use Ireland West Airport Knock because it is a pleasure. It is a pleasure to deal with the people there and to go through the airport. I assure people that their journey will be nice and smooth and they will not be waiting for hours outside, as people were in Dublin Airport.

Tonight the commitment I want from the Government is that the high-performance meeting will take place, the State agencies will come together and IDA Ireland in particular will bring more people into Mayo to look at that site. The site is ready-made for industry and jobs. The board is willing to help, as is the county council. We want balanced regional development. There is no balanced regional development in this country at present. I want to see the airport getting support from the Government. The reason it is not getting support is because the State does not own the land. As far as I am concerned, Mayo County Council has invested in it, as has the airport and the State. It might not be State land in name but it is State land. I hope that once and for all, we will see IDA Ireland and other State agencies taking a serious interest in the airport. There is no reason bodies such as the Passport Office could not be brought down to the area. There is no reason other Departments could not be decentralised to bring some of their work to rural Ireland.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I have to admit I feel slightly cheeky taking this matter this evening, given Deputy Ring's contribution to the development of the airport during his time in government. It was a serious contribution and he put in place a lot of supports. It was through his efforts that the strategic development zone was created. It is a matter of enormous frustration that it has not moved on. The challenge to the survival of the airport during Covid was immense. I agree with Deputy Ring that it is a credit to Joe Gilmore, the staff and the board that they got the airport through that period. Now that we have done so, we can focus on the strategic development zone.

Deputy Ring is absolutely right that the Taoiseach travelled to the airport last Friday week. The Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, also visited. We met the board and we were briefed on the importance of the strategic development zone. As Deputy Ring is aware, the Department launched nine new regional enterprise plans in 2022. A key feature of the regional enterprise plans is that they are developed by regional stakeholders using a bottom-up approach. The west regional enterprise plan is chaired by Evelyn O'Toole of Complete Laboratory Solutions in Galway. The Deputy will be aware the west regional enterprise plan includes an objective to advance the development of regional entrepreneurship and the innovation ecosystem in the region.

Action 5 under the objective focuses on strengthening the enterprise strategy for the strategic development zone at Ireland West Airport Knock. When Deputy Ring was in government he ensured the designation of Ireland West Airport Knock as a strategic development zone. The airport is a critical piece of enterprise-enabling infrastructure for the region and the strategic development zone designation has the potential to enhance its role significantly as a driver of regional economic development, in the manner envisaged 40 years ago by the late Monsignor Horan, to develop both an airport and jobs. Deputy Ring is aware that the site has a complicated planning history. In fairness to Deputy Ó Cuív, he envisaged locating the headquarters of the Department of Community and Rural Development on the airport site. That fell foul of planning, which is why the strategic development zone was developed.

In 2022, the Department launched the regional enterprise innovation scoping scheme which provided funding of €3.4 million for 42 projects. The Horan Airport Trust secured funding of €50,000 under the scheme to undertake a feasibility study looking at the potential for an infinity hub at Ireland West Airport Knock as a focal point for the circular economy and its development for industry and clustering activity for various sectors. It is clear, from my interaction and meeting with the board, that this money is not enough and will not allow us to proceed as quickly as we need. The stakeholders, including IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Mayo County Council, need to work collectively to achieve this.

Deputy Ring was present last week when the Taoiseach visited. We have undertaken to get all the stakeholders around the table in the coming weeks to decide on a plan for the strategic development zone and to ensure that plan is followed. I will work with Deputy Ring to ensure the plan is funded. I absolutely agree with him on the potential not only for the airport but also the wider economy in Mayo and the wider western economy with regard to the circular economy, energy and the services the airport can offer. I certainly will ensure the full weight of Government support will be behind this effort and that it is not only a meeting about a meeting but a substantive endeavour that we are starting on.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. I know he is as committed to the airport and the region as I am. As I have said, it is probably the most important bit of infrastructure that we have in rural Ireland. We all need to work together and pull together. We all need to make sure this high-profile meeting will take place with the stakeholders, IDA Ireland, and whatever State agencies have to come. The time has come. The land is there, the zoning is there and the commitment is there. What we need now is to get regional development and bring back some balance back to the regions. The infrastructure is there. Things in the country are going well at present. We need to be looking ahead and we need to know the west of Ireland will be catered for. I know that in his role, the Minister of State will make sure IDA Ireland will play its part. He and I will make sure the meeting will take place with the Taoiseach. I will continue to raise the matter until it does. What we really want is action. What we really want from the Government is a real commitment. I know the Minister of State is committed to it. I am asking him to deliver the message that it does not have to be in the ownership of IDA Ireland. IDA Ireland has done a very good job and I would never fault it. When I was a Minister, I saw the way it performed outside this country. It has done a very good job. When it is committed to something, it delivers. I am asking it to make a commitment to this infrastructure. If it makes a commitment to it, it will deliver on it.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Ring and his intervention is timely. When the Taoiseach was Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, we secured up to €145 million in funding from the European Regional Development Fund to support projects coming from the regional enterprise plans that I previously mentioned. The officials are working with Enterprise Ireland on developing the scheme, with the aim of announcing the first call of approximately €35 million in the coming months. This funding will support innovative enterprise-focused projects throughout the regions such as those we are speaking about. I will certainly work with the Minister and the Deputy on achieving this. When the airport was opened, the headline on the front page of The Western Peoplewas "And They Said It Couldn't Be Done!". The board presented copies of this to the Taoiseach and the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers. They are also saying it cannot be done with the strategic development zone but we will prove them wrong once again.