Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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336. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the work he is engaging in to support the growth of the Letterkenny-Derry economic corridor; his plans for economic cooperation in the northwest over the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9262/25]

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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338. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the work underway to create a skills network across the northwest cross-Border region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9264/25]

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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339. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his plans to deliver balanced regional development and economic growth in the northwest cross-Border region, working in cooperation and partnership with his Ministerial counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9265/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 336, 338 and 339 together.

Balanced regional development remains a key focus for me and this Government. My Department and its agencies contribute to this agenda in several ways, including through nine Regional Enterprise Plans (REPs). These are bottom-up plans developed and led by regional stakeholders, which focus on collaborative initiatives to strengthen the enterprise ecosystem in each region.

The North-West REP covers counties Donegal, Leitrim, and Sligo and one of its six strategic objectives it to encourage ongoing development of cross-border relationships and Shared Island initiatives to further the enterprise agenda in the North-West. Activity under the North-West REP supports, for example, continuing development of the North-West RegTech initiative, which seeks to position the North-West region as a centre for excellence for regulatory technology; partners involved include Donegal County Council, the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) and Catalyst Northern Ireland. Donegal County Council’s ALPHA Innovation, ATU and other stakeholders are also seeking to drive enterprise innovation in the North-West through projects under PEACE Plus.

Donegal County Council is one of the lead drivers for deepening cross-border engagement in the North-West – working to strengthen Letterkenny’s role as a regional growth centre, including through recognition of Derry City, Letterkenny and Strabane as the North-West city region. The development of the North-West city region is recognised in the draft First Revision of the National Planning Framework as essential to achieving the potential of the North-West and maximising its contribution to regional and all-island economic growth. This is also clear in the Northern and Western Regional Assembly’s Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy.

In terms of skills, Ireland’s national skills architecture includes a network of nine Regional Skills Fora overseen by the National Skills Council. These Fora foster engagement and collaboration by providing an opportunity for employers and the education and training system to work together to meet the emerging skills needs of their regions. The Fora also provide valuable bottom-up information and insights to ensure that Ireland has a skills agenda, at national level, which is evidence-informed and serves its purpose for people across the country.

Regional Skills North-West is dedicated to fostering collaboration with key stakeholders to advance the enterprise agenda in the region. Given the North-West’s position as a border region, fostering strong ties with Northern Ireland is vital to its strategic objectives.

In 2018 the North-West Strategic Growth Partnership, in alliance with third-level education providers, established the North-West Tertiary Education Cluster (NWTEC). NWTEC brings together the four education partners in the North-West city region, namely ATU, Ulster University, North-West Regional College and Donegal Education and Training Board. The aim of the network is to provide pathways and progression routes for students on a cross-border basis, and to work with industry to ensure greater economic prosperity and high value jobs for the region.

Regional Skills North-West is also implementation lead for strategic objective six of the North-West Regional Enterprise Plan, focused on addressing the skills challenges encountered by enterprise in the region; this is another area of engagement with NWTEC.

The current Regional Enterprise Plans were extended last year until the end of 2025; the Programme for Government commits to publishing and resourcing new Regional Enterprise Plans and ensuring detailed consultation with all relevant stakeholders. We would expect that continuing to build on this cross-border work will feature again in the next plan for the North-West.

More broadly, my Department is committed to working with the Northern Ireland Executive to create a stable platform upon which we can continue to develop a more prosperous economy across both jurisdictions on the island. My colleague Minister Burke met with Ministers Conor Murphy and Gordon Lyons at the twenty third North South Ministerial Council Trade and Business Development meeting in Armagh on 23 October 2024, which provided an opportunity to consider the achievements of InterTradeIreland since the previous sectoral meeting in April 2024, including achieving a Business Development Value of €94 million, and providing crucial investor readiness supports.

My Department’s Management Board held a joint management board meeting with the Department for the Economy Northern Ireland on 25 February in Dublin. The two management boards discussed a range of topics including Shared Island projects in the enterprise and tourism areas and agreed to work together to identify opportunities for additional Shared Island projects. The joint management board meeting was very beneficial with agreement to work more closely across a range of areas, including all-island clustering, joint research opportunities, offshore wind and the green economy.