Launch of Midlands Regional Enterprise Plan to 2024

Longford County Council welcomes launch of Midlands Regional Enterprise Plan to 2024
Up to €180 million for regional enterprise development projects nationwide

Press Release
7 March 2022

Longford County Council is welcoming the launch of the Midlands Regional Enterprise Plan (REP) launched in recent days by Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Robert Troy TD, at Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR), Mullingar.

The new Plan includes projects and initiatives across the four Midlands counties (Longford, Westmeath, Laois, and Offaly). Stakeholder consultation sessions attracted attendees from across industry, public sector, and higher education sectors from within the region. The sessions highlighted the high-level of collaboration and ambition that exists within the region, with a strong sense of optimism prevalent despite some regional challenges. Three key strategic objectives were agreed, with distinct actions developed for each.

The three strategic objectives for the Midlands region to 2024 are:

Climate Action - Transition to a zero-carbon economy

This objective aims to support the activities of the Midlands Regional Transition Team to develop transformative projects to guide emerging low-carbon focused projects across the region.

Capitalising on strengths of the Midlands through Smart Specialisation and Digitalisation

This objective includes actions to capitalise and realise business, industry, and skills opportunities presented by TU status; leverage The Midlands Advanced Manufacturing Action Plan to position the region as an advanced manufacturing centre of excellence and develop a Smart Connected Technologies Cluster.

Positioning the Midlands as the destination of choice to live, work, visit, invest and learn

This objective includes actions to promote and position the region as a community of choice; to support and develop additional flexible office solutions throughout the region, including the exploration of and the development of vacant properties; to progress and support tourism development, visitor experience development plans and the experience economy across the region and finally to establish a Regional Food and Drink Cluster in the Midlands.

Speaking at the launch event, Paddy Mahon, Chief Executive of Longford County Council, said, “Longford County Council welcomes the publication of the new Midlands Regional Enterprise Plan to 2024. Longford is well positioned to benefit from the implementation of the plan, as we work to ensure the region becomes a centre for low carbon enterprise and advanced manufacturing. Positioning the region as a great place to live and work will be central to attracting investment and tourism to the region.”

Longford County Council Cathaoirleach Cllr Peggy Nolan added, “I am delighted to welcome this plan and I look forward to seeing the impact that it will have on the Midlands. It supports every facet of the work we are doing here in Longford to highlight the county as a great place to work, live and do business. I particularly welcome the objectives around supporting the transition to a zero-carbon economy, as well as establishing the Regional Food and Drink Cluster in the Midlands – congratulations to all involved.”

Minister for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Robert Troy TD, outlined the importance of the Plan. “I am delighted to launch the Midlands Regional Enterprise Plan to 2024 in Mullingar. This Plan represents the coming together of public and private sectors across Laois, Longford, Offaly, and Westmeath to address the challenges unique to our region and identify and put in place measures to seize the opportunities for the Midlands now and going forward.”

“I want to congratulate Anne Cusack, Chair of the Midlands Steering Committee, Sarah Morgan, Midlands Programme Manager, and all the Steering Committee members for their work to develop this new plan for the region. I have had the pleasure of working with Anne and the Committee over the past year on this and am delighted to see the final product.”

“I have been determined to ensure that funding will be available to underpin the ambitions of the Regional Enterprise Plans and I am very pleased that we have secured up to €180 million in funding over the coming years. This is necessary for the development of collaborative regional projects of scale that will drive delivery of the objectives developed in this Midlands Plan, and I encourage all to look at how best this funding can be used to support regional job creation and enterprise development into the future.”

Delivering balanced regional growth is a stated objective within the Programme for Government and in the Economic Recovery Plan 2021. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment contributes to the regional agenda in a number of ways, including through the enterprise agencies, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland, the Local Enterprise Offices and through national enterprise policy.

Chair of the Midlands Regional Steering Committee, Anne Cusack said, “I am delighted that Minister Troy is here with us today to launch the Midlands Regional Enterprise Plan for 2024. The Minister has been a great support throughout the development of this Plan. I would like to thank the Steering Committee members across Laois, Longford, Offaly, and Westmeath for their full commitment to the region and to the development of the plan which is the result of thorough consultation with our stakeholders. Our plan for the region is focused on the transition to low-carbon, whilst capitalising on the region’s strengths through smart specialisation as well as positioning the Midlands as a great place to live, work, study, visit and invest. I look forward to working closely with the Minister and our Committee members as we move to implementation stage.”

The Midlands Regional Enterprise Plan to 2024 can be accessed on the Department’s website: Midlands Regional Enterprise Plan to 2024.

ENDS

All media queries should be directed to the Longford County Council Communications Officer via mediaenquiries@longfordcoco.ie or by calling 043 33 43362