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Enterprise Support Services

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 February 2022

Thursday, 10 February 2022

Questions (84)

Pauline Tully

Question:

84. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his plans in relation to providing specific supports for disabled entrepreneurs considering the findings of the recently published report (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6992/22]

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Written answers

The Local Enterprise Offices act as a ‘first stop shop’ providing advice and guidance, financial assistance, and other supports to anyone wishing to start or grow their own business. The Local Enterprise Office can offer direct grant aid to microenterprises (10 employees or fewer) in the manufacturing and internationally traded services sectors which, over time, have the potential to develop into strong export entities and all schemes and grants can be availed of by any business that meets the relevant eligibility criteria.

The Local Enterprise Offices provide a wide range of high-quality business and management development programmes that are tailored to meet specific business requirements. Whether it is starting a business or growing a business there is something suitable for anyone exploring self-employment as an option.

The Local Enterprise Offices provided mentors for the Self-Employment Skills for People with Disabilities course hosted and delivered by TU Dublin through its Continuing Professional Development programme and sponsored by Pobal and The Open Doors Initiative.

The Course was open to anyone who self-identified as having a disability and who wishes to start their own business and simply requires participants to have a business idea that they wish to evaluate as a sustainable enterprise. The course was offered at Level 6 of the National Framework of Qualifications and people who passed the course could receive 5 ECTS credits. It was the first online self-employment course for people with disabilities in Ireland and allowed participants with varying disabilities the opportunity to attend as there were no barriers regarding accessibility and transport.

The course included a range of guest speakers whose experience and expertise were relevant to the target audience. Using a newly developed online tool that will enable participants to develop their idea on a week-by-week basis, plus adopting Universal Design for Learning principles, a customised experiential learning approach allows each participant to maximise their learning from the course.

Each participant was allocated a business mentor by their Local Enterprise Office who supported them with the development of their business idea and whom they met once a month to get feedback on the development of their business plan. It is expected that a number of start-ups will emerge from this course.

The overall response from course participants, through the post-course survey, was hugely positive and it is intended to run this course again in 2022 and will again include Local Enterprise Office Mentors.

Enterprise Ireland's Centre of Excellence is also planning to deliver Diversity and Inclusion Training for Local Enterprise Office staff in 2022. This will be beneficial in helping the Local Enterprise Office staff understand the needs of all entrepreneurs seeking assistance.

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