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Small and Medium Enterprises Supports

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 November 2013

Tuesday, 19 November 2013

Questions (279)

Finian McGrath

Question:

279. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will support the small and medium enterprise sector with the high costs they are experiencing. [48873/13]

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Written answers

Government actions to support small and medium sized enterprises are set out in the Action Plan for Jobs. Since the Action Plan process was launched in 2012, a significant number of initiatives have been introduced to support the SME sector. These include:

- tackling the issue of late payments by transposing the EU Late Payment Directive into Irish legislation;

- the introduction of new financing models for SMEs, such as the Microfinance Fund for start-ups and the temporary Partial Credit Guarantee scheme;

- Corporation Tax exemption to 2014 for companies that commenced, or will commence, trading in 2012, 2013 and 2014;

- the introduction of the JobsPlus scheme that provides an employment subsidy to employers who recruit a person who has been unemployed for 12 months or more;

- the reform of support structures for SMEs through the establishment of the new Local Enterprise Offices, which is well advanced within my own Department;

- the provision of advice and training by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland to businesses that are looking to reduce their energy spend; and

- reductions in the administrative burden on business. To date, my own Department has achieved a 25% reduction in its administrative burden on business, amounting to a potential annual saving for business of over €207 million.

Budget 2014 also contained a number of additional initiatives to support SMEs. These include an increase in the cash receipts threshold for VAT, which will improve cash-flow for businesses, and a new subsidised Financial Training programme for SMEs.

These are just some of the measures which the Government has taken to support the SME sector. The Action Plan for Jobs 2014, which I am currently preparing for the Government, will seek to build on the progress already made and is set to deliver a further suite of actions to support enterprise.

As part of the Action Plan process, I am keen to ensure that businesses are fully aware of the supports that are available to them. In this context, last month my Department organised a free “Taking Care of Business” event which was attended by over 500 businesses and brought together more than 20 State bodies to provide SMEs with helpful information on transacting business across the public sector.

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