Councillors seek a redraft of Mayo's economic strategy

Mayo county councillors have called on senior management in the local authority to redraft a five-year economic development strategy document, noting that it lacks specific timelines.

The council's Head of Enterprise John Magee had presented a positive report to councillors at their monthly meeting last week, noting that Mayo is home to 16 IDA-backed multinationals - more than Donegal and Sligo combined - and these employ 5,541. Enterprise Ireland supports 103 companies employing 5,620 while the Local Enterprise Office supports around 200 firms employing 1,315.

Mr Magee said Mayo has a recorded population of 111,600 aged 15 and over with more than 58,300 at work and 5,415 on the Live Register, according to Census 2022. More than 23,000 retirees were also recorded in Mayo, up 15% compared to Census 2016.

Asserting that the council is a key driver of economic development, Mr Magee referred to €368m spent by the council throughout 2024 on infrastructure, goods, services, housing, roads, active travel and tourism, as well as €36m on direct activities related to economic development.

He acknowledged a great need for public infrastructure upgrades such as on the electricity grid and on some critical rail and road projects along the N5, N17, N26, N58 in addition to the Ballinrobe Bypass, conceding: “There is only so much we can do as we await water and waste upgrades, the extension of the gas network, address gaps in communications connectivity and improve air connectivity, all of which work against crucial projects such as the implementation of the strategic development zone at Ireland West Airport.” 

To this end, he said the draft strategy identifies three main work pillars: supporting enterprise and expanding employment; harnessing natural resources; and providing an exceptional quality of life. He said the council will work with national bodies to deliver the infrastructure required to allow the county reach its full potential.

Following on from the strategy, he said the next step will be to develop three two-year implementation plans in collaboration with the statutory agencies and sectoral interests to set objectives and goals to achieve the vision outlined.

More than a dozen councillors commented on the draft plan, and while the remarks were mostly positive, several pointed out that the strategy contained no timelines and should be forward-looking only and not refer to projects that have already happened. They also said that critical infrastructure is badly lacking and the council must ensure that monies made from energy creation in the county must be used to benefit local areas.

Cllr Peter Flynn said it was clear a huge amount of input had gone into the document and proposed that management come back with an amended draft to include the many points raised by members. This was seconded by Cllr Damien Ryan and agreed by members.