Catherine Connolly
Question:58. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of the national SME growth plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35116/20]
View answerTuesday, 10 November 2020
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Written answers
The Programme for Government – Our Shared Future identifies a number of groups which will be led by Government in shaping the engagement of enterprise and SMEs in the formulation of the policy responses at the different stages of the recovery.
The groups envisaged by the Programme for Government include an SME Growth Taskforce, to design a National SME Growth Plan that will map out an ambitious long-term strategic blueprint beyond COVID-19 and Brexit. I appointed the members of this Taskforce in September, which includes over 20 entrepreneurs and business leaders contributing expertise from a broad range of sectors.
The Taskforce is served by four focused sub-groups with the capacity and expertise to develop specific actions in thematic areas, drawing from the recent OECD Review of SME and Entrepreneurship Policy in Ireland. These sub-groups are focused on Entrepreneurship; Productivity, Digitalisation and Competitiveness; Internationalisation; and Clustering and Networks.
The proposals being developed will include measures to help SMEs to start up, scale up and access foreign markets, as well as recommendations aimed at helping SMEs to become more productive and ready for the transition to a digital, green economy. They will also focus on creating and growing local business networks and clusters, which are an important driver of regional development.
I will chair the third meeting of the SME Growth Taskforce on Wednesday 11 November, when an advanced draft of the SME Growth Plan will be presented to the Taskforce for its consideration. Once finalised, I will bring the SME Growth Plan to Government for approval, with a view to its publication later this year.