Good afternoon everyone and welcome to Castlebar.
This Action Plan is the 4th in a series of 8 Regional Plans, all of which will help us to deliver a key priority for this Government: local jobs and local recovery.
Our aim is to make sure the recovery is felt behind the door of every home here in the West and across Ireland.
We first launched the national Action Plan for Jobs in 2012 with the aim of creating 100,000 new jobs by 2016. We reached this target earlier this year. The pro-growth policies adopted by this Government have resulted in Ireland becoming the fastest growing economy in the EU last year.
While our national unemployment rate is down to 9.3%, from a peak of 15%, it is still far too high with too many families not feeling the benefit of recovery.
This is why the Government has set a new target of reducing unemployment down to 6% by 2020 and that no region will be left behind.
The West was hit hard during the economic collapse.
At its height unemployment in the West was 17.2% and thanks to the assistance of all sectors of society it has now fallen to 10.5%.
We must continue to build on this growth. I am determined to ensure that every region can achieve its economic potential and that the benefits of the recovery are felt in every region, county and community in the country.
The West Regional Action Plan sets out a clear pathway to reach that potential.
Creating local jobs across different sectors and maximising local strengths will require a coordinated effort from all local stakeholders. Government will work with many sectors of society.
Everyone has to pull together - no single agency can create jobs or bring jobs to the region on its own. It is the job of all agencies – the Local Enterprise Offices, the tourism bodies, the agri-food bodies, the local authorities, and the national enterprise agencies, to work together with local stakeholders to provide the best supports possible to help enterprise invest in the region.
This is what this West Action Plan seeks to achieve. It has been developed through extensive consultation with you, the local people who live and work here in the West, and who know its strengths and the potential and opportunity that exist here. And it will require your continued commitment, hard work, and enthusiasm to be successful as it is implemented.
I know that you are all as dedicated as I am to working to improve the local economy and create jobs here for local people, as is evidenced by the very strong culture of practical and strategic cooperation that already exists here. This Plan will provide a framework to further enhance collaboration between public and private actors, to the benefit of all.
The Plan contains over 190 very tangible and concrete time-lined Actions in total. It includes a range of actions such as a focus on supporting entrepreneurship through increasing the number of start-ups as well as helping existing companies to grow and create jobs. Udaras will be targeting companies in the Life sciences, Mari-culture and Food and Drink industries.
There are Actions included to attract and embed FDI in the West, as well as Actions targeting specific sectors of strategic importance to the Region, such as the Medical Technologies, and ICT.
To show our intention to deliver on the West Action Plan, I will be visiting the site of a new Advanced Technology building being built by the IDA in Castlebar later today. The building has now received full planning permission and construction should begin in the New Year. This is a signal of how serious this Government is about job creation.
All of these Actions in this plan will be monitored closely, and, as with our national Action Plan process, we will publish regular Progress Reports to ensure strong and transparent implementation of all of the Actions in the Plan.
The national Action Plan for Jobs process has worked, and continues to work. However, strong successful Government policies at national level mean nothing if they are not reflected at a regional and local level.
There have been positive stories in the West in recent times. Later today I will also visit the site of the new National Outdoor Pursuits Centre here in Castlebar. Construction of this €12 Million facility starts today and with it brings local jobs. We have also seen recent good news in the business sector with Apple’s announcement in Athenry, the Mayo Power announcement and construction in Killala, Color Communications in Castlerea, Nephin Whiskey in Lahardane and Connaught Whiskey in Ballina, as well as Irish TV in Westport, Stocktaking.ie in Claregalway and Green Isle in Portumna.
Each company and each announcement brings employment and recovery to families here in the West.
These new Regional Action Plans for Jobs will help to achieve vibrant and competitive regions. We will launch 3 other Regional Action Plans for Jobs in the coming weeks and months so that the recovery will be felt at every level in Ireland and living and working in your local community will be an option for everyone.
The national goal of this Government is to deliver sustainable full employment by 2020 and I believe that this Action Plan will be a significant milestone on that journey.
Thank you.
ENDS