Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 January 2014
459. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the number of Irish small and medium enterprises that commenced trading online in 2013; when he expects the target of 2,000 to be met; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4185/14]
View answerThe latest indicative figures available from the CSO in their Enterprise & Information Society statistics suggest that less than 1 in 5 Irish businesses are trading online. The National Digital Strategy which was published last year aims to address this challenge, by encouraging more Irish businesses to trade online.
The Government provided funding in Budget 2013 for the implementation of a Trading Online Voucher Scheme for small businesses and this scheme is currently being piloted in Dublin. At present 25 companies are participating. A second pilot identifying a further 25 businesses, will start in February followed by a full national roll out of this scheme during 2014. While I do not have figures for the number of businesses in Ireland that have developed an online trading platform in 2013, I expect that the target of 2,000 additional small businesses trading online as a result of the Trading Online Voucher Scheme will be met by the end of 2015.
