Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 December 2021
182. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which job opportunities in the services and manufacturing sectors remain bright for County Kildare and the country at large over the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61071/21]
View answerWhile the past two years has taught us that the future is unpredictable, this Government is working at both national and regional level to ensure that enterprises are well positioned to benefit from opportunities that will arise over the next five years.
I recently visited the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) in Kildare, and I was encouraged by the variety of industry within the county, that spans many sectors including manufacturing, food and beverage production, Agri-tech and ICT. These businesses are buoyed by the combined efforts of Enterprise Ireland, the LEO, IDA and the Local Authorities and partnership projects such as the MERITs Hub. LEO Kildare have conceived and driven this project from the start and predict it will create 120 tech jobs over next three years. I am also pleased to note that the Start Your Own Business Programme run by LEO Kildare, has over 450 participants so far this year, which gives hope for the future growth within Kildare.
The Programme for Government – Our Shared Future, in recognising the central role that will be played by Ireland’s small and medium enterprises in determining the strength of the recovery for the economy and for jobs, from the shock of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, committed to the establishment of the SME Taskforce, and to the delivery by the Taskforce of the SME and Entrepreneurship Growth Plan, to map out an ambitious long-term strategic blueprint for Irish SMEs and entrepreneurs.
The SME and Entrepreneurship Growth Plan was published in January of this year and provides Government with a set of recommendations, directly from the business community, of long-term strategic importance for SMEs and entrepreneurs. These recommendations include measures to help SMEs and entrepreneurs 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.
Minister Robert Troy and I chair an Implementation Group, which was established to examine and take forward the Growth Plan recommendations. Through this avenue, we have identified key priority areas, that we feel have the most potential to make a positive impact on the SME sector over the coming year.
These priority areas relate to the following: access to finance; digital transformation; increasing first time exporters; enhanced assistance for high-potential businesses; clustering and networks; SME management skills; reducing the regulatory burden on SMEs; delivery of a single portal for business information and supports; and ensuring comprehensive enterprise supports coverage.
To further encourage SME Growth and new Job Opportunities nationwide, my Department is overseeing the development of nine new Regional Enterprise Plans to 2024, including for the Mid-East region, which are expected to be completed shortly. These are bottom-up plans, developed by regional stakeholders including the Local Authorities, the enterprise agencies, LEOs, regional skills forum and education and training institutes in each region.
