Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

65. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her views on the need to establish a task force or commission similar to the Western Development Commission with specific focus on job creation in the midlands region. [2018/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Western Development Commission (WDC) was established in 1999 to promote, foster and encourage economic and social development in the Western Region, which covers counties Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo, Roscommon, Galway and Clare.  I understand the Commission has invested over €45 million in enterprises in the Western region during this period. As you are aware, my colleague Michael Ring, Minister for Rural & Community Development has policy responsibility in relation to the Western Development Commission.

Enterprise development and job creation in the regions of Ireland is a key policy priority of this Government and my Department has been actively engaged in the regional jobs agenda through the Regional Action Plan for Jobs (RAPJ) initiative for the past two years.

In addition, in December last year I announced an allocation of €30.5 million in funding to support enterprise capability in the regions, with 21 projects from all over the country receiving funding. This Regional Enterprise Development Fund (REDF) totalling €60 million is being rolled out by Enterprise Ireland over the next 4 years to support the development and implementation of collaborative and innovative projects that can sustain and add to employment at a national, regional and county level.  The Fund supports the ambition, goals and implementation of the Regional Action Plans for Jobs.

The Irish Manufacturing Research CLG project located in Mullingar was one of the significant funding recipients under Stream 1 of the REDF, which will be an important support to manufacturing activity in the Midlands region. In addition, Longford is a partner in a  Stream 2 project to develop a network of three Digital and Innovation Hubs with Leitrim and Cavan.

I look forward to launching a second competitive call under the REDF in March this year, which will make available the remainder of the €60 million.

The Regional Action Plan for Jobs initiative is a central pillar of the Government’s ambition to create 200,000 new jobs by 2020, 135,000 of which are outside of Dublin. The Midlands Regional Action Plan for Jobs was launched in June 2015, one of a series of eight Regional Plans, and is the key policy response for supporting employment growth in the region. 

Some 9,500 more people are in employment in the Midlands region since Q1 2015 (baseline year) to Q2 2017, representing very good progress against the target of 14,000 jobs by 2020 as set out in the Midlands Plan.

Live Register numbers have fallen in all four Midland counties in the past 12 months. However, CSO figures show that the unemployment rate in the Midlands is currently at 9.3% (Q3 2017), which places the Midlands in a small group of those (including the South-East and Mid-West) whose unemployment rates are more than one percentage point higher than the State average. This is too high, especially since the Q3 2017 State average is 6.9%, and underlines the importance of retaining a focus on regional enterprise development and job creation in the Midlands.

Importantly, the Midlands Plan has been embraced within the region and the Enterprise Agencies are working hard to drive local job creation and contribute to the job creation targets set out in the Plan. In 2017, both Enterprise Ireland and IDA reported job increases in the Midlands of 6% and 1% respectively.

The Local Enterprise Offices operating under the auspices of the Local Authorities and Enterprise Ireland in Laois, Offaly, Longford and Westmeath continue to play a vital role in providing advice and guidance, financial assistance and other supports to those wishing to start or grow their own businesses in the region. In 2016 client companies of the four Midlands LEOs collectively added 327 new jobs, bringing total LEO supported employment in the region to 3,842. Results for 2017 are expected to be published shortly.

My priority is to continue to work with stakeholders collectively within the Midlands to build on the progress to date on implementation of the Regional Action Plan for Jobs over the period to 2020, and to focus on leveraging the key strengths of the region. My Department is also working closely with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government in relation to the National Planning Framework and development of Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies, and with the Department of Rural and Community Development on roll out of the Action Plan for Rural Development.

Against that backdrop and the collaborative efforts continuing in the Midlands under the RAPJ, I have no plans to replicate the WDC model or establish a task force in the Midlands region, nor am I aware of any such plans.