Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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33. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will report on the south east regional enterprise plan; if a new plan is being prepared; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6502/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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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.

My Department oversees implementation of the REPs at the national level. The most recent meeting of the REP National Oversight Group took place in November 2024 where implementation across all REPs was discussed.

The South-East REP covers counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford. The Steering Committee driving implementation includes representatives from the enterprise agencies, local authorities, Regional Assembly, higher education institutes and industry. The South-East REP includes 32 actions under five strategic objectives to support start-ups, green growth, Smart Specialisation and clustering, innovation and place-making. A mid-term progress report was published on my Department’s website in April 2024.

Through the REP, the South-East is working to prepare for the economic opportunity presented by offshore wind. In January, the South-East hosted officials in my Department and representatives of several regional working groups focused on offshore renewable energy; the productive meeting was held in Waterford Port and included a visit to the South-East Technological University’s Walton Institute.

The Smart Regions Enterprise Innovation Scheme, co-funded under the European Regional Development Fund, and administered by Enterprise Ireland, is currently open for applications. The scheme support projects aligned to the Regional Enterprise Plans through four streams targeted at local enterprise infrastructure, innovation clusters, innovative services to SMEs and early-stage feasibility and priming research. Applications are being approved by Enterprise Ireland and I expect to make an official announcement about successful projects in the coming weeks.

The Programme for Government commits to publishing and resourcing new Regional Enterprise Plans and ensuring detailed consultation with all relevant stakeholders. My Department is working to deliver on this commitment.

In consultation with stakeholders, the current plans were extended for one year to the end of 2025 to allow for further implementation of current objectives and actions, as well as consideration of the future of the REPs.

My Department has commissioned an independent external review to assess the current REP initiative and make recommendations for the future. My officials, following completion of the review, will work to develop a Regional Enterprise Policy Statement, to 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, I expect the formal consultation process for the development of the next set of Regional Enterprise Plans to get underway, with the aim of publishing new plans early in 2026.