Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Balanced regional enterprise development continues to be a key policy for me and this Government, and is reaffirmed in the Department’s White Paper on Enterprise.

The Department contributes to this agenda in several ways, including through the development, implementation and oversight of nine Regional Enterprise Plans.

The South-East Regional Enterprise Plan covers Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Waterford and was launched in Wexford on 24 March last year.

Each Regional Enterprise Plan is overseen and monitored by a Steering Committee made up of regional stakeholders and chaired by a senior level private sector businessperson.

I attended the most recent meeting of the South-East Steering Committee in workLAB in Waterford on 23 March. At the meeting an update was provided on the Plan's strategic objectives and associated actions. This included a presentation from the South East Technological University on its Strategic Plan 2023-2028. I also received updates on the ongoing work of the Engineering, Financial Services, and Life Sciences clusters. In addition, I heard about Rosslare Europort's plans to establish the port, its hinterland and the South-East region as an Offshore Renewable Energy Hub. I believe good progress is being made in delivering on the objectives of the Plan.

With regard to funding, I can advise the Deputy that my Department has secured up to €145 million from the European Regional Development Fund to drive implementation of the Regional Enterprise Plans. This funding will support innovative enterprise focused projects aligned to the Plans. I expect the first call of €35 million to be announced in the coming months.

Finally, the Department is holding nine ‘Building Better Business’ conferences around the country throughout 2023. These focus on the opportunities and challenges of digital transformation and the transition to a low-carbon economy, as well as showcasing the government and agency supports available to small and medium enterprises. Regional Enterprise Plan Chairs also have the opportunity to address attendees about the progress being made in the implementation of their Plan.

The most recent conference focused on the Mid-East region and was held last Friday in Naas. The next event will actually focus on the South-East region and take place on 14 July in the SETU Arena in Waterford.

I believe these conferences demonstrate the firm commitment of this Government to balanced regional enterprise development for all regions of Ireland, including the South-East.