Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Regional development is a key element of our national enterprise policy, as set out in the Programme for Government and the White Paper on Enterprise, and is a key focus of the work of my Department and its agencies.

Enterprise Ireland launched its new strategy “Delivering for Ireland, Leading Globally (2025–2029)” earlier this year. This strategy prioritises regional enterprise development, innovation, and sustainability and building the capability of Irish companies to grow in world markets. Over 60 percent of all EI client company employment is outside Dublin.

Enterprise Ireland is an active member of the Mid-East Regional Enterprise Plan Steering Group with partners including the Local Authorities. The plan includes actions across the three Mid East counties (Kildare, Wicklow, and Meath).

The Mid-East Regional Enterprise Plan to 2024 (and extended to 2025) highlights strategic objectives and actions across a number of sectors for Wicklow as follows:

• Developing Wicklow / East Coast as a hub for the screen content creation sector through actions such as building the Content Creation Enterprise Hub (Clermont) and establishing a Crew Development Hub to organize and deliver skills and talent initiatives for crew roles in the screen industry. Wicklow County Council is also developing a Wicklow Screen Sector Development Strategy to support the growth of the industry across the region. This strategy is currently being developed in conjunction with industry stakeholders.
• Development of a Food Incubation Development Hub in County Wicklow arising from the Wicklow County Council Food & Drink Strategy. A Feasibility Study carried out for WCC recommended the establishment of a food hub and incubation units for the county with a focus on development and support of food businesses in Wicklow.
• Establishment of Marine Enterprise Facilities by developing Marine Enterprise Hubs at Wicklow and Arklow harbours to service the offshore wind industry and other marine services such as aquaculture.

Regional development is one of four key strategic objectives of the IDA 2025–2029 strategy, "Adapt Intelligently" with a commitment to secure 550 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects outside Dublin - 55% of all planned investments. Additionally, the overarching goal is to create 75,000 new jobs nationwide and generate a projected €250 billion in economic impact with the IDA having set ambitious targets for every region in Ireland.

There are 121 IDA client companies in the Mid-East Region, Comprised of Louth, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow, employing 20,470 people. 22 of these are in Wicklow, employing 2,695.

The FDI performance in the region has been consistent over the past five years with employment among IDA clients increasing by 10%. The Mid-East has a significant ecosystem of well-established companies across Technology, Life Sciences, International Financial Services and Engineering & Industrial Technologies. It has also won significant investment in the Food and the Film sub-sectors.

A robust property and infrastructure ecosystem can be the key differentiator in winning FDI projects. The availability of suitable property and strategic sites is a critical component of the regional value proposition and to the winning of investments into the regions from both new-name clients and from the existing client base. IDA, through its Regional Property Programme aims to address regional market failure through investment in land, buildings and essential infrastructure in regional locations as required by current and prospective clients of IDA as well as those of Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices. In this regard, the IDA has 24.4 ha of land at its Arklow Business & Technology Park, Ballynattin, Co. Wicklow with 12.88 ha available for marketing.

The Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs), located in the 31 Local Authorities, are a key partner for small businesses in Ireland, helping them to identify and tackle their controllable costs. The LEO in County Wicklow is actively engaged with their local business community, working to promote a suite of supports designed to assist small businesses to reduce their costs and become more productive and more competitive.

In 2024 LEO Wicklow approved €731,913 in direct grant assistance to start-ups and existing businesses under the Feasibility, Priming and Business Expansion Grants. These supports enable entrepreneurs and small businesses to start, sustain and scale operations which contributes to job creation within the county.

Last year LEO Wicklow also delivered the Start Your Own Business (SYOB) programmes to 144 aspiring entrepreneurs. This programme guides clients through the various aspects of business and business planning. It highlights the importance of planning ahead when setting up a new venture and assists entrepreneurs in honestly assessing their business idea, its viability and help them decide if they should proceed or take a step back.

I continue to emphasise the importance of regional development and the role of my department’s agencies in driving economic growth in the regions.