Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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26. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when a new midwest regional enterprise plan will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33047/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Balanced regional development is a key Government priority and is a central aim of the White Paper on Enterprise 2022-2030. My Department and its agencies contribute to this agenda in several ways, including through the 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.

Last year, in consultation with the Regional Enterprise Plans National Oversight Group I agreed to extend the current REPs to the end 2025. This extension provides an additional year for continued implementation of the current plans and time to consider the best approach to the development of successor plans throughout 2025.

In terms of the Mid-West, I attended the most recent meeting of the Mid-West REP Steering Committee in Ennis on 5 June. The meeting provided a great opportunity to hear about progress implementing the Mid-West REP and detail on a number of regional initiatives. Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland also presented on their recently launched strategies.

There is a clear commitment in the new Programme for Government to publish and resource new Regional Enterprise Plans. Before we develop these new plans, I would like to assess our approach to date, set a clear framework for the future and engage all of the relevant stakeholders in each region.

An independent review of the Regional Enterprise Plan initiative is currently underway. The review began in January 2025 and the final report is due to be delivered before the end of this quarter. A steering group was established to oversee the review.

The REP National Oversight Group, or NOG, last met on 11 June, with myself and Ministers Burke and Smyth co-chairing the meeting. The NOG brought together REP Steering Committee Chairpersons and other key stakeholders to discuss implementation of the REPs and related policy updates. The consultants carrying out the independent review also presented their draft findings on the REP initiative.

A Regional Enterprise Policy Statement is to be drafted in parallel and will be finalised after the review of the REP initiative. This statement intends to more clearly link the REPs with existing policies and initiatives; it will set out the framework and strategic agenda for future regional enterprise development.

Following publication of the policy statement in the second half of this year, attention will then turn to development of the next set of REPs. A defined process, taking account of the REP review results and policy statement, and involving consultation with regional stakeholders, will be conducted in each region. This process should lead to formulation of new Regional Enterprise Plans ready for launch in early 2026.