Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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611. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the status of her plans to help create high-skilled quality jobs in the Gaeltacht of Baile Ghib, County Meath; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27725/18]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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I have been informed by Údarás na Gaeltachta that as a result of a fact-finding trip to the County Meath Gaeltacht in 2017, the Board of Údarás approved the setting up of an Enterprise Forum in order to research and assess the development of employment opportunities of the area. The Enterprise Forum was established on the 30 November 2017.

The aim of this enterprise action group is to seek to strengthen enterprise development opportunities in both Ráth Chairn and Baile Ghib - particularly in the context of their close proximity to Dublin.

The aims include:

- Researching the resources and opportunities that exist in the area by engaging with local entrepreneurs, community groups, language groups and other relevant parties;

- Assessing the results of the research and preparing recommendations for job creation in this Gaeltacht region;

- Preparing a 3-year strategy for the Ráth Chairn and Baile Ghib Gaeltacht with a recommended budget to implement its objectives.

This coordinated approach will encompass input from relevant stakeholders including Meath County Council, SOLAS, the Louth and Meath Education and Training Board/Regional Skills Fora, the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, NUI Maynooth, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, along with business and community representatives.

I understand that the forum has met 6 times and hopes to complete and publish a plan in Autumn.

In that overall context, I am informed that the board of Údarás na Gaeltachta recently approved a support package for a proposed PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) pellet extrusion project in Baile Ghib that will create up to 20 jobs in the area in the coming years - thus building on the 219 full-time jobs in Údarás na Gaeltachta client companies in the area at the end of 2017.