Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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750. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the progress which has been made on the commitment in the programme for Government in developing an enhanced role for the Western Development Commission; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20351/17]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for a Partnership Government includes a specific commitment to reinforce the role of the WDC to support the implementation of the regional jobs plans in the West and North-West. This is being done in a number of ways:

- The WDC is represented on the Implementing Committees which oversee the delivery of the Action Plans for Jobs for the West and North-West regions.

- The body is also represented on the Monitoring Committee for the Action Plan for Rural Development which is chaired by Minister Humphreys. The WDC is assisting my Department, as part of a sub-group of the Monitoring Committee, in developing indicators to measure the impact of the Action Plan on rural communities.

- The Commission is also represented on a new Taskforce which I established in March to progress the concept of an Atlantic Economic Corridor along the western seaboard. The WDC is involved in a sub-group of the Taskforce which is mapping out the options for EU funding which could support the development of the Western region.

- The WDC has also assisted my Department in participating in, and reporting on, a public Dialogue on the implications of Brexit for areas such as rural communities, regional SMEs, culture, the Irish language, and heritage and outdoor recreation.

The WDC is an important part of a wider focus on regional development by the Government, which also involves a deeper role in economic development by the Local Authorities and the Regional Assemblies. The WDC’s involvement in an increasing number of initiatives, such as those outlined above, go beyond the role the body has played to date.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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751. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the status of the Atlantic Economic Corridor and the role the Western Development Commission will play in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20352/17]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for a Partnership Government and the Action Plan for Rural Development both contain a commitment to progressing the concept of an Atlantic Economic Corridor which was proposed in February 2016 by a group involving a number of Chambers of Commerce in the Western region and the American Chambers of Commerce of Ireland. The Atlantic Economic Corridor proposal aims to contribute to effective regional development by creating sufficient scale along the western part of Ireland to match other regions – and particularly the East coast - in attracting Irish and multinational investment, growing jobs and supporting vibrant local communities.

Towards the end of last year I, along with officials from my Department, held a number of meetings with public bodies and with representatives from the Chambers group to further explore the proposal.

On foot of these discussions, I established an Atlantic Economic Corridor Taskforce in March and chaired the first meeting of the group in Castlebar. The Taskforce contains senior representatives from key Government Departments and other public bodies, Universities and Institutes of Technology, and representatives from the Chambers Group.

A number of sub-groups of the Taskforce have been established to progress aspects of the overall proposal. The Western Development Commission is represented on the Taskforce and also on one of the sub-groups which is mapping out the EU funding which may be available to support the development of the Western region.

I intend to convene a further meeting of the Taskforce in the coming weeks to review progress.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, is currently leading the preparation of a new National Planning Framework, Ireland 2014, on behalf of the Government. The National Planning Framework will be a high-level document that will provide the framework for future development and investment in Ireland. It will also be a tool to assist the achievement of more effective regional development. It will be important to ensure that the development of the Atlantic Economic Corridor concept is consistent with the National Planning Framework.