Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Midlands Regional Enterprise Plan is overseen and monitored at a regional level by a Steering Committee made up of stakeholders from Counties Laois, Offaly, Longford and Westmeath.

Dr Anne Cusack is the Chair of the Plan, with Sarah Morgan as Programme Manager.

My officials attended the last meeting of the Midlands Steering Committee on 24 November in Tullamore. At that meeting an update was provided on each strategic objective and associated actions.

The Midlands Regional Enterprise Plan Steering Committee and Working Groups continue to deliver on the agreed three strategic objectives for the region under the Chair, Dr Cusack.

My officials are currently reviewing nine REP progress reports which will document implementation to end of Q3 2023. These mid-term reports are expected to be published in Q1 this year.

Highlights to date include, under Strategic Objective One, the launch of calls under the EU Just Transition Fund, including the regenerative tourism scheme.

Under Strategic Objective Two, the Midlands ICT Cluster has been established and the inaugural meeting of the Midlands Regional Enterprise Plan Network and Cluster Exchange Forum has taken place.

Under Strategic Objective three, significant work has been delivered under Midlands Ireland, which promotes the Midlands as a destination of choice for living, learning, tourism, and investment and the membership of the Midlands Network of Co-working Facilities has expanded.

In recent months the Midlands Regional Enterprise Plan has, in partnership with regional stakeholders and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, held night-time economy workshops in Athlone, Tullamore, Portlaoise, Longford and Mullingar. These workshops were delivered by internationally renowned destination management expert Dr Terry Stevens and seek to enhance the night-time economy offering of principal towns in line with the Night-Time Economy Taskforce report.

The next meeting of this Midlands REP Steering Committee is scheduled for Friday 17 May in Mullingar.

My Department oversees implementation at the national level and I, together with Ministers Calleary and Richmond, attended the Regional Enterprise Plans National Oversight Group meeting on 26 October 2023. Two meetings of this Group are planned for 2024.

Regional Enterprise Plan Chairs were in attendance, together with representatives from the enterprise agencies, the Head of the LEO network, the County and City Management Association and other organisations with a focus on regional enterprise development.

A topic for discussion at that meeting was the provision of funding to implement enterprise projects aligned to the Regional Enterprise Plans.

As the Deputy will be aware, my Department has secured up to €145 million in funding to support projects aligned to these Plans. This builds on the €126 million my Department has already allocated in regional enterprise funding.

The first call of €35 million under the Smart Regions Enterprise Innovation Scheme, which is co-funded under the European Regional Development Fund, is now open on the Enterprise Ireland website and will close on 31 March 2024. There will be further calls under this Scheme over the coming years.