The key role of Minister Heather Humphreys in the Government plan to drive investment and regenerate rural Ireland took shape this week, with the transfer of all rural affairs functions from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government to her Department of Regional Development, Rural Affairs, Arts and the Gaeltacht.

The election message from the countryside was heard loud and clear, and Rural Ireland was front and centre, when newly appointed Taoiseach Enda Kenny nominated the members of his government last week.

Only 2% of farmers are interested in setting up a diversified farm-based business, according to a survey by Teagasc.

ENTERPRISE Minister Richard Bruton has indicated that legislation he hopes to introduce early next year will make it easier for communities to set up renewable energy co-operatives.

SMARTGRID technology firm FMC-Tech has been sold to General Electric, in a move expected to result in rapid growth of the business in overseas markets.

Galway medical device company Aerosurgical has announced it is to create up to 40 jobs after receiving an investment of €1.6m.

Galway medical device company AeroSurgical has secured investment of €1.6m following a funding round that included the Western Development Commission, Enterprise Ireland, existing shareholders and new private investors.

POOR direct international air access is resulting in a decline in commercial activity in the west.

Westport: The inaugural US/Ireland Legal Symposium takes place in Westport, Co Mayo, from May 11-13, 2011.

PLANS to cut the cash support for regional airports have been criticised as failing to recognise the value of air access to isolated areas.

Dublin: DemonWare and Jolt Games founder Dylan Collins was named the Irish Internet Association and Enterprise Ireland Net Visionary 2010 last night.

THE Bord Snip report proposes total annual savings of €238 million in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment – savings which would include the loss of 600 jobs and involve sweeping changes to Fás, Forfás, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland among others.

THE renewal energy sector has the potential to create thousands of jobs in rural areas, the Government has been told.

NEW figures show that more than 50% of new Irish jobs created this year come under the green category which has the capacity to create at least 55,000 jobs by 2020.

MORE that 300 jobs will be on offer at the Western Development Commission’s (WDC) LookWest.ie Expo in the Alexander Hotel, Dublin on September 18.

GALWAY medical devices firm Crospon has raised €3 million in funding.

EFFORTS to make it more attractive to live and work in the west of Ireland are not convincing people in the east to move there, research has revealed.

AN expo aimed at attracting people and businesses to the Western region has been launched by Gillian Buckley, chief executive of the Western Development Commission.

GALWAY medical device company Crospon has produced an industry-first skin patch which can deliver medicine directly into the body and which has been modelled directly on ink-jet cartridges.

Crospon Ltd, today announced closure of a €2.3m seed round of financing.

The west of Ireland has experienced a population boom in recent years for the first time since the famine, according to body set up to promote the region.

THE land area under organic production increased by 15% last year, Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan has disclosed.

INDIGENOUS and multinational investors in the western region will be rewarded with a large pool of educated, highly skilled and enthusiastic workers, according to Lisa McAllister, chief executive of the Western Development Commission (WDC).

The official body that promotes economic and social development in the west has accused the Government of failing to prioritise rural development.

MANY rural areas are being kept in digital darkness by being deprived of access to broadband telecommunications.

The Western Development Commission (WDC) is holding a jobs fair in Dublin today in an effort to attract more workers to the west of the country.

The body set up to promote economic and social development in the west of the country is promoting so-called eco-tourism in an effort to address declining visitor numbers.

GREATER levels of tax relief and grants for small to medium rural enterprises were sought at the Irish Rural Link annual conference in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, yesterday.

The Western Development Commission has launched an initiative to attract people from the Greater Dublin area to the seven western counties.

Passenger numbers at Knock airport rose 55% to 52,600 between January and March, over the same period last year.

THE re-opening of some disused railway lines could be a key to the future of many small towns in the West of Ireland, according to a report published today.

RETAIL sales of organic products in Ireland have reached an estimated 38 million this year, the national organics conference was told in Portumna, Co Galway, yesterday.

IT will be political suicide for the Government if the Western Rail Corridor is not reopened, the West On Track group has warned.

POOR roads and railways are holding back the economic growth of the West, according to the Western Development Commission (WDC).

THE role of the body responsible for promoting economic development in the West of Ireland is to be reassessed.

Eamon O’Cuiv, the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, has announced plans to begin a review of the Western Development Commission.

A report by the Western Development Commission says action is needed immediately to bridge the widening gap between the East and the West.