Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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359. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the names of various stakeholders who are participating in the development of the regional enterprise strategy for County Mayo; the extent to which the local private sector has an input into same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20795/15]

Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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360. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the status of the development of the regional enterprise strategy for County Mayo; the timeframe for its completion; the expected date for publication of the strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20796/15]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 359 and 360 together.

The aim of the Action Plan for Jobs is to help enterprises to create employment in all regions of the country. While over 100,000 extra jobs have been created since the start of the Action Plan process in 2012, not all regions are yet fully experiencing the benefits of economic recovery. That is why the Government is placing an increased emphasis on supporting jobs growth in the regions.

In February, the Government announced details of the Action Plan for Jobs: Regionalinitiative which seeks to build on the existing strengths and assets of each region to maximise enterprise growth and job creation. This initiative will see Action Plans drawn up for eight regions at NUTS III level.

It is not intended that Regional Action Plans will target individual counties for job creation or investment but, rather, that these plans will identify measures that can be taken to enable the region as a whole to build on its competitive strengths and increase the number of people at work the region.

As part of the development of the Action Plan for Jobs for the West Region, a Stakeholder Forum took place in Galway on 23 March 2015. This event was attended by approximately 150 stakeholders from across the region, the majority of whom were from the private sector. The objective of the Forum was to identify potential actions for inclusion in the Action Plan for Jobs for the West. The process produced many ideas for consideration and my officials are currently working through the proposals to determine which of them can be implemented.

A Regional Project Delivery Team, comprising public bodies from the region, has also been established to assist in the development of the Action Plan and has met three times to date, once each in Mayo, Galway and Roscommon.

My objective is that six Regional Action Plans, including one for the West region, will be launched by July.

The Government has committed up to €250 million in funding over the next five years to support the Regional Action Plans. €150 million of this funding will support an IDA property programme, while up to €100 million will be made available through Enterprise Ireland for three separate competitive calls which will support innovative and collaborative approaches to job creation across the regions. The first two of these calls were launched on 15 May, with a closing date of 10 July 2015. Each call will provide €5 million over the period 2015-2017 for community-based initiatives and for collaborative projects from Local Enterprise Offices respectively. Further details are available on my Department’s website, www.djei.ie.