Written Answers Nos. 61-75
61. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of companies that have availed of the Covid-19 credit guarantee scheme; his views on whether it is necessary to make adjustments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6874/22]
View answerThe COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme has been operating since September 2020 and during that time up to the end of 2021, a total of €617 million in loans has been drawn or approved by over 8,800 businesses, maintaining over 63,000 jobs. Businesses which have been most impacted by the effects of COVID-19 are drawing the most loans; the wholesale and retail sector, the accommodation and food services sector, the construction sector and the primary agriculture and fisheries sector account for 58% of all loans drawn under the scheme.
Government is very aware that when it comes to lending, availability of loans and the cost of the loans is vitally important. Government insisted that given the 80% guarantee being provided by the State that lenders reciprocate with lower interest rates. Data in respect of loans up to the end of 2021 shows that 93% of loans are being provided at interest rates which are less than 3%, at rates that are below the market rates for similar type loans. Loans of up to €250,000 are also available without the need for security.
In 2021 a number of new on-lenders joined the scheme including non-bank lenders and for the first time 19 credit unions joined a state-backed loan scheme providing a range of loan products across the regions.
The Scheme has been developed in accordance with the European Commission’s State Aid Temporary Framework and has been extended three times since September 2020. The last extension was in December 2021 and makes the scheme available until 30 June 2022. Any further extension of the scheme beyond that point is dependent on an extension of the Temporary Framework. I would therefore encourage businesses to avail of these low-cost loans in the remaining time of the scheme, which can be used for both working capital and investment purposes.
62. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will reconsider the exclusion of service charges and the distinction between mandatory and voluntary payments from the Payment of Wages (Amendment) (Tips and Gratuities) Bill 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7016/22]
View answerThe Payment of Wages (Amendment) (Tips and Gratuities) Bill 2022 (No 5 of 2022) was published on 24 January 2022.
The Bill will provide clarity on the meaning of tips, gratuities and service charges; place tips and gratuities outside the scope of a person’s contractual wages; oblige employers to display prominently their policy on the distribution of both cash and card tips; and oblige employers to distribute fairly and in a transparent manner, tips that are received in electronic form i.e. through debit or credit cards or smart phones.
However, there will be no other regulation of ‘cash tips’ as this is, according to the Workplace Relations Commission, ‘’unenforceable’. Cash tips are not always under the control of the employer.
In its current published form, the Bill does not change the position that mandatory service charges levied by a business (as distinct from voluntary and discretionary tips and gratuities) are part of business revenues and as such can be applied to meet any or all business costs, including salaries. Discretionary service charges, however, will fall within the Bill’s definition of ‘tips and gratuities’, and the Bill will apply to these types of voluntary customer payments.
The Bill completed Seanad 2nd Stage on 1st February last, at which session I undertook to reconsider the treatment of service charges in the Bill. I am currently examining the relevant issues and potential implications.
63. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of the co-operative societies Bill for which heads of Bill are currently in preparation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6896/22]
View answerMy Department is close to finalising legislative proposals for the most far-reaching reform of the legislation regarding Co-operative Societies in almost 130 years. The proposals will consolidate, modernise and strengthen the legislative basis for the sector and enshrine the co-operative model in legislation for the first time. This will allow co-operatives to operate under a modern, fit for purpose legislative framework, and provide an attractive alternative to the company law model for those entities who subscribe to the co-operative ethos.
I recently launched a public consultation on the proposed reforms and following consideration of the responses received, it is expected that a general scheme of a Bill will be brought to Government during Quarter 2 of this year.
64. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his plans to deliver on the commitment of balanced regional development encompassed within the National Development Plan 2021-2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6993/22]
View answerRegional enterprise development and sustainable job creation is a key policy priority of mine and the Government and is a core element of the National Development Plan. My Department plays a very strong part in implementing that policy goal through a variety of policy initiatives and investments in the regions.
Future employment growth and sustainability requires a major focus on boosting regional growth potential to secure sustainable quality employment. This necessitates the generation of growth that is sustainable, driven by exports and underpinned by innovation and competitiveness in all regions.
Through our Agencies we continue to support and drive the creation of new enterprises in the indigenous sector nationally and in particular the generation of employment in all regions.
The Deputy will be aware that Enterprise Ireland launched its new three-year strategy, entitled ‘Leading in A Changing World’. The strategy sets out five key strategic ambitions for Irish enterprise and for Enterprise Ireland over the period 2022-2024 and beyond. This strategy fully aligns with Government's ambition to bring job opportunities and growth to all parts of Ireland increasing total employment to a record high of 2.5 million by 2024 with an ambitious target of creating 45,000 jobs over the next three years and increasing exports by Enterprise Ireland client companies to €30 billion.
The IDA has made great strides in boosting investment in regional locations. Of the 246 investments won in 2020, more than half went to regional locations. Similarly in 2021, of the 249 investments secured by the IDA, over half (133) were for locations outside Dublin. The IDA is doing everything it can to encourage investors to locate in regional areas. This includes actively marketing potential investment sites outside of our main cities and working to develop recognised industry clusters that will attract overseas investors to regional locations.
A key strategic investment priority in the NDP is investing in regional growth and resilience. My Department has approved over €126 million in funding to 79 enterprise strengthening projects in every region over a series of competitive calls since 2017. In addition to the €5 million allocation for regional enterprise funding in Budget 2022, my officials are in the process of exploring new significant sources of funding to drive implementation of the nine new Regional Enterprise Plans. I expect to announce details on new regional funding shortly.
Investment in the NDP priorities will help maintain and build on our competitive, innovative and resilient enterprise base, providing high-quality jobs and employment opportunities for people to live and prosper in all regions.
65. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department and the IDA have endeavoured to attract sustainable aviation industries and new aviation industries relating to devices such as drones to County Clare. [6713/22]
View answerOver the last three years, IDA Ireland has supported several initiatives and programmes in its aviation client base in Shannon. Government support has helped to retain employment as the impact of the global pandemic hit the global aviation industry and aviation-related companies in Shannon.
By targeting training and R&D, as well as other initiatives, through IDA Ireland the Government has helped to retain the competitiveness of the aviation industry in Shannon and across Ireland.
Despite the devastation of the pandemic to the international travel industry, IDA has continued to market Shannon and the Mid-West for aviation-related activities. In recent months, as the global industry returns to some measure of normality, a number of these client companies have again begun to actively recruit and have seen an upturn in revenues.
In 2021, the Irish Aviation Authority in conjunction with the Future Mobility Campus Ireland initiative opened a dedicated flight test corridor in Shannon, Co. Clare. This initiative will help us to better understand the operation of drones near commercial airspace.
Additionally, Fedex, in conjunction with SkyPort, are currently testing business-to-business cargo deliveries from their Shannon Airport air-freight logistics hub to customers in Foynes in Limerick.
IDA Ireland anticipates a positive future for the industry and has welcomed several new initiatives in the Clare and Shannon areas. Should current market trends continue to improve globally, the future of the Shannon cluster looks positive, and IDA looks forward to supporting new activities and client companies in the months to come.
66. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of establishing a further IDA facility and development of lands at a location (details supplied) in County Mayo; the status of the three projects; the delivery timelines of each; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6999/22]
View answerThe timely provision of appropriate, innovative, and cost-effective property and infrastructure solutions that meets the needs of MNCs remains essential to winning FDI. IDA Ireland’s regional property programme aims to ensure availability of land, buildings and infrastructure in regional locations for current and prospective clients of both IDA and Enterprise Ireland. Over the last 5 years, IDA Ireland’s Regional Property Programme has enabled the winning of capital-intensive projects of significant scale to regional locations.
Under their new strategy, “Driving Recovery & Sustainable Growth 2021-2024” IDA Ireland is targeting the delivery of 19 Advanced Building Solutions (ABS) to regional locations, including a second Advanced Building Solution in Castlebar. I am advised that the Agency has commenced the process of evaluating suitable site options in Castlebar and is engaging with local stakeholders including Mayo County Council as part of this process. I am not in a position to provide further detail at this point.
IDA Ireland actively promotes available buildings and land in IDA Business Parks and high-quality buildings in private ownership through their network of overseas offices. The IDA owns approximately 10.6 hectares of industrial zoned land on the Sligo Road in Quignashee, Ballina. IDA Ireland continues to market the site to existing and prospective investors that may be interested in expanding or locating in County Mayo.
I am informed that the Agency will continue work with Mayo County Council to ensure the infrastructure development will be complementary to the wider development plans for Ballina and that the site, once developed will be positioned and marketed as a suitable location for indigenous and FDI developments. In December 2021 IDA lodged a phase 1 infrastructure planning application on its lands in Ballina.
Despite the success of IDA Property Programme, the programme alone cannot meet the needs of enterprise across every region. The Agency continues to work with regional stakeholders and the private sector on opportunities to add to the supply of competitive land and property solutions in regional locations, including lands at Cloonagh, Castlebar.
IDA continues to engage and collaborate with Mayo County Council on suitable land and property opportunities in Castlebar and these discussions are ongoing.
67. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the action that is being taken to address delays in the provision of work permits; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6802/22]
View answerIreland operates a managed employment permits system maximising the benefits of economic migration and minimising the risk of disrupting Ireland’s labour market. The employment permits regime is designed to facilitate the entry of appropriately skilled non-EEA nationals to fill skills and/or labour shortages in the State, required to develop and support enterprise for the benefit of our economy. However, this objective must be balanced by the need to ensure that there are no suitably qualified Irish/EEA nationals available to undertake the work and that the shortage is a genuine one.
The employment permits system is managed through the operation of the critical skills and ineligible occupations lists which determine employments that are either in high demand or are ineligible for consideration for an employment permit and these lists are subject to twice-yearly evidenced based review.
Since March 2020, my Department has implemented Covid-19 contingency arrangements moving employment permit operations seamlessly to a totally remote working environment, and Ireland was one of the few countries which has managed to keep their employment permit system fully operational throughout the crisis.
From the outset of the crisis, in order to assist the HSE and all other medical providers in the State to respond to, and to assist with, the public health response to the threat of Covid-19, all medical employment permits are expedited with immediate effect.
My Department experienced a significant increase in applications for employment permits in the past year, impacting on processing times. From the start of January to the end of December 2021, some 27,666 applications were received, representing a 69% increase over the same period in 2020 (16,293) and a 47% increase on 2019 (18,811), which itself represented an 11 year high in applications. My Department has issued 16,275 employment permits in 2021, and processed a total of 17,968 applications which represents a significant volume of activity. The impact of this has resulted in a significant backlog, which has increased from 1,000 in April 2021 to approximately c. 10,500 at the end of January 2022, which is now stabilising.
In addition, the extension of categories of employment permits following the latest Review of the Occupational Lists has increased the availability of employment permits for these roles.
Processing times have been impacted by this increase in demand but also because of the HSE cyber-attack. As a result, employment permit applications associated with the July Doctors rotation (which occurs twice yearly in January and July) had to be submitted either manually or through other non-standard methods. This resulted in a significant additional administrative burden in dealing with these applications, requiring staff to be temporarily reassigned to assist in the process and had a direct impact on wider processing times for other permit applications.
The Department recognises the impact delays on the processing times for work permits has for businesses and their workers and has developed a plan of action to reduce processing times built up over the pandemic. My Department has approved a trebling of staff in the employment permits section in order to deal with the increase in applications.
As the plan to deal with this issue is implemented and begins to take effect, we expect to see improvements shortly, with the backlog considerably reduced by the end of Q1 and substantially reduced by the end of Q2 2022.
In addition, further systemic changes have also been introduced. My Department has worked with the Department of Health, the Health Service Executive and the Department of Justice to streamline and extend the time period for General Employment Permits (GEP) issued to doctors. A new two-year multi-site GEP for Medical Doctors in Public hospitals and Public health facilities was introduced in respect of the January 2022 Doctors rotation. This will result in significant benefits for applicants, as well as major efficiencies for the Employment Permits Section, by eliminating the necessity to apply for additional employment permits when moving to a different Public hospital or Public health facility within this two year period.
The Department provides regular updates on its website in relation to processing times and engages directly with key stakeholders including the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, AmCham, IBEC, representative groups and individual companies, as required.
The Management Board of my Department is overseeing the implementation of the plan of action and its impact on the backlog and waiting times.
68. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will report on IDA Ireland’s employment results for 2021; the regional spread; the factors behind the level of job increases; the level of job creation anticipated in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6853/22]
View answerI was happy to see that IDA Ireland won 249 investments during 2021, with 104 new name investments showing that the confidence of investors in Ireland remains strong. The number of people directly employed in multinational companies in Ireland grew to 275,384, this is the highest level of foreign direct investment employment ever achieved. The creation of more than 29,000 new jobs during the year is a great achievement in what remains a challenging environment.
The strong flow of projects observed during 2021 were significantly ahead of target and in line with pre-pandemic averages. This increase was driven by the expansion of existing clients and better than anticipated new name performance. The regions performed exceptionally well, winning 54% of total projects and the largest number on record at 133.
It was against a backdrop of predicted global falls in FDI levels that the IDA's Driving Recovery and Sustainable Growth Strategy for 2021-2024 was launched. The Strategy aims to ensure that FDI can make a significant contribution to the recovery and future growth of the economy. The targets set to achieve this are to: win 800 total investments, to support job creation of 50,000 and economic activity; partner with clients for future growth through 170 Research, Development & Innovation and 130 training investments; win 400 investments to advance regional development; embrace a green recovery with 60 sustainability investments and to target a 20% increase in client expenditure in Ireland to maximise the impact of FDI.
Despite the challenges thrown up in the last two years, Ireland has proved to be a resilient and stable platform for companies choosing to invest here, 7% growth in IDA supported companies, compared to 3.6% in 2020, is notable given the global environment in which Ireland competes for foreign direct investment is constantly changing. The coming period will be characterised by an accelerated pace of change set against an exceptionally challenging economic backdrop, however, I remain confident that Ireland will continue to remain an attractive location for FDI in the future.
69. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the main attractions and drawbacks of Ireland as an attractive place to locate foreign direct investment; the policies being pursued to improve the attractiveness of Ireland as a location for such investment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6710/22]
View answerIreland continues to be an attractive location for foreign direct investment, with strong FDI results in 2020 and in 2021, despite COVID-19 and a downturn in global FDI.
In 2021 IDA won 249 investments, 104 of which were new name investments. The number of people directly employed in MNCs in Ireland grew to 275,384, with over 29,000 new jobs being created by the sector in 2021. These figures indicate strong investor confidence, as these investment decisions were taken not only within the context of the OECD International Tax negotiations and agreement, but also during a difficult and volatile international environment as a result of both Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our recent decision to join the OECD international agreement is unlikely to adversely impact Ireland’s existing base of foreign direct investment. From a tax perspective, Ireland will remain a highly competitive place to do business. We will continue to offer a 12.5% rate to over 95% of companies operating in Ireland. For those larger companies affected by the decision, the recent changes will provide clarity and much-needed certainty for investors on the global minimum tax rate that will apply to them.
Ireland has proved itself to be a resilient, stable, and reliable partner for MNCs. Our contingency planning since 2016 has reduced the impacts of Brexit on business, and IDA’s multinational clients have not reported any major issues as the new trading relationship took effect.
Factors which enhance Ireland’s attractiveness to foreign investors include our pro-enterprise policy environment, our highly educated English-speaking workforce, as well as our membership of the European Union. IDA Ireland, with the support of my Department, continues to work closely with international clients, from a range of sectors, to attract job-rich investment from overseas firms.
70. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will report on the steps that have been taken to introduce a living wage in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6878/22]
View answerThe Programme for Government makes the commitment to "progress to a living wage over the lifetime of the Government.” I have spoken before about how the pandemic has caused many of us to reconsider and re-evaluate what an essential worker is. We now understand that it is a much broader group of workers than people would have originally described, many of whom are on low pay and in the private sector.
The Government has been clear in its belief that a legacy of the pandemic must be better pay, terms and conditions for everyone, but particularly for those on low pay. We are committed, therefore, to honouring the Government commitment to progressing to a living wage over the lifetime of this Government. In doing so, we need to recognise that many businesses have been badly affected by the pandemic and are struggling to pay existing wages. We need to make sure that we proceed in a way that does not cause jobs to be lost in terms of the numbers of people employed, or would see employees having their hours cut. To do so would be counterproductive.
In 2021, I asked the Low Pay Commission to examine the programme for Government commitment and to make recommendations on the best approach.
The Low Pay Commission commissioned a team of researchers at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM) to conduct supporting research on the concept of a living wage. Terms of Reference for this research were noted by Cabinet in 2021. In January of this year, the Low Pay Commission received the final Living Wage Study from the team of researchers at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. The Low Pay Commission is currently evaluating this study and is in the process of meeting with numerous stakeholders in relation to the introduction of a living wage. I expect to receive the Low Pay Commission’s final report on the move to a living wage and its recommendations by the end of the first quarter of this year.
71. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on whether a new State-wide enterprise agency is needed to coordinate the good work of the local enterprise offices around the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7032/22]
View answerThe Local Enterprise Offices act as a ‘first stop shop’ providing advice and guidance, financial assistance, and training to anyone wishing to start or grow their own business. The LEOs promote entrepreneurship, foster start-ups and develop existing micro and small enterprises at a local level, be that at rural community, town, village or city level, delivering advisory and funding assistance (e.g. Start Your Own Business, online trading, innovation, competitiveness and employment measures), and providing referral services for other state supports.
Following the dissolution of the County Enterprise Boards, the 31 Local Enterprise Offices were established in 2014 under the Local Authority structure.
The LEOs are funded by my Department and the coordination of the activities of the LEOs is carried out by a dedicated Centre of Excellence in Enterprise Ireland. The role of this unit is to provide a range of business supports to the Local Enterprise Offices to enhance their impact on the development of micro-enterprise and small business. Enterprise Ireland also provide strategic and policy direction to the Local Enterprise Offices.
The Local Enterprise Offices have just come out of their 8th consecutive year of growth with 7,400 new jobs created by LEO clients in 2021. The LEOs now support over 7,100 companies financially within their portfolio with almost 36,000 associated jobs and a net gain of 3,000 jobs in 2021. That is not to mention the thousands of other businesses they have helped with additional measures such as training and mentoring programmes, the Trading Online Voucher scheme, LEAN for Micro, Green for Micro and the Start Your Own Business programme.
The Local Enterprise Offices are at the very heart of business development and entrepreneurship in towns and communities right across the country. This is shown by the figures reported, with 85% of Local Enterprise Office client company employment based outside of Dublin.
In line with the Programme for Government commitments on Enterprise Policy, this integrated approach between the Local Enterprise Offices and Enterprise Ireland provides a clear pathway for progression from the LEOs to Enterprise Ireland for small companies with the potential to grow and export. Furthermore, the new Enterprise Ireland strategy sets out a commitment to ensure a continuation of support for enterprises that have grown to ten or more employees, as appropriate to their stage of development and growth ambition.
The recent employment results demonstrates that the collaborative model between the LEOs, Enterprise Ireland and the Local Authorities is working on the ground. The expanding role of the LEOs as well as closer integration with Enterprise Ireland will ensure that we can build on this success and deepen the impact of the LEOs right across the country.
72. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when he plans to publish the regional enterprise plans; the funding that will be linked to the plans; the efforts that are being made to increase in-person IDA site visits to western counties following the easing of public health measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7000/22]
View answerThroughout 2021, my Department has overseen the development of nine new Regional Enterprise Plans to 2024. These are ‘bottom-up’ plans, developed by regional stakeholders which identify growth opportunities, recognise vulnerabilities, and enable job creation across the nine regions.
The Regional Steering Committees are chaired by senior industry figures and include the Enterprise Agencies, LEOs, Regional Assemblies, Local Authorities, Higher Education bodies, and others, all of whom are focused on creating and sustaining employment opportunities in the region.
Following in-depth consultation and engagement across the regions, each plan will contain a set of objectives and related actions to be delivered by end 2024. These objectives are complementary to and support existing Government and agency initiatives.
The Regional Enterprise Plans to 2024 are currently being finalised by my Department. They will be published and launched across the country over February and March this year.
My Department has approved over €126 million in funding to 79 enterprise strengthening projects in every region over a series of competitive calls since 2017. This has been provided through Enterprise Ireland via the Regional Enterprise Development Fund, the Border Enterprise Development Fund and the Regional Enterprise Transition Scheme. Together, these funds assisted the development of collaborative regional projects that drive delivery of the objectives developed in the previous Regional Enterprise Plans.
I can advise the Deputy that in addition to the €5 million allocation for regional enterprise funding in Budget 2022, my officials are in the process of exploring new significant sources of funding to drive implementation of the nine new Regional Enterprise Plans. I expect to announce details on new regional funding shortly.
During 2020 and 2021 COVID-19 proved to be a significant disrupter to international travel and in person meetings. The health and safety of IDA staff, clients and stakeholders has been paramount at all times during this period.
In response to COVID-19, IDA Ireland successfully migrated many of its business development and client engagement activities to digital platforms and has put in place a virtual first policy and virtual site visit experience for potential investors. The use of digital platforms by IDA Ireland staff has contributed to an enhanced digital engagement with existing clients and also in hosting virtual site visits with potential new investors.
As COVID restrictions begin to ease internationally and nationally, IDA Ireland welcomes the opportunity to increase the level of in-person site visits across all regions including to the West region in line public health and safety guidelines.
73. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department specifically has engaged with Clare County Council with the view to having a new strategic development zone in the Gillogue townland of Clonlara, County Clare in proximity to the University of Limerick campus. [6712/22]
View answerI am not aware of any formal communication from Clare County Council to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment concerning this issue.
Section 166 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 (as amended) – “Designation of sites for strategic development zones” - provides for the designation by government of a particular site or sites for the establishment of a strategic development zone, on foot of a proposal by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. This designation may be done to facilitate development which is, in the opinion of the Government, of economic or social importance to the State.
I'm informed that following a resolution by Clare County Council, the Council has, in partnership with the University of Limerick, formally sought the designation and expansion of lands on the north campus of the University as an Economic Strategic Development Zone. This proposal is currently under consideration by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
74. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of the implementation of the recommendations of the report by the SME Taskforce. [6816/22]
View answerAn SME Growth Taskforce of entrepreneurs, business leaders and other stakeholders was established in September 2020 to fulfil the commitment made in the Programme for Government to draw up an ambitious long-term strategic blueprint for SMEs and entrepreneurs beyond COVID-19.
Between September and December 2020, the SME Taskforce, which was assisted by four dedicated subgroups, developed a range of recommendations to build a better business and regulatory environment for our SMEs and entrepreneurs.
This work was informed by the comprehensive OECD Review of SME and Entrepreneurship Policy in Ireland 2019, which provided a hugely informative, objective, and deeply-researched evidence base on the challenges and opportunities for the SME and entrepreneurship sector in Ireland.
The work of the SME Taskforce resulted in its finalisation and adoption of the SME and Entrepreneurship Growth Plan in December 2020, which was subsequently published in January 2021.
To ensure that the substance and vision of the Growth Plan continued to move forward, and to facilitate further detailed analysis of its recommendations, an SME and Entrepreneurship Implementation Group was established in early February 2021.
I chair the Implementation Group, along with my Departmental colleague, the Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Robert Troy TD.
The Implementation Group met on six occasions between February and September 2021 to discuss progress on thematic areas arising from the recommendations in the SME and Entrepreneurship Growth Plan. As part of these sessions, the Implementation Group invited participation from Government Departments and Agencies responsible for delivery of specific actions.
This engagement resulted in the identification of ten priority areas where the Implementation Group felt that significant progress can be made in the shorter term. This list of priorities was discussed in further detail at a specially convened meeting of the SME Taskforce on 16 September 2021.
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 assistance; ensuring comprehensive enterprise agency coverage for SMEs; and increased SME participation in public procurement.
I welcome the solid progress that has already been made in taking these priority areas forward. This include the plans in Enterprise Ireland’s recently published Strategy 2022-2024 to increase the number of exporting SMEs and high potential start-ups, and the plans set out in the new National Digital Strategy to support the digitalisation of the SME sector.
The Implementation Group will continue to monitor progress on actions relevant to these areas over the course of this year, in consultation with the SME Taskforce, DETE, its enterprise agencies and other State bodies.
A Report on progress on the priority areas will be brought to Government in Q4 2022 and will be published thereafter.
75. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of the Midlands Regional Enterprise Plan. [6812/22]
View answerRegional enterprise development and sustainable local job creation is a key policy priority of mine and this Government.
Throughout 2021, my Department has overseen the development of nine new Regional Enterprise Plans to 2024. These are ‘bottom-up’ plans, developed by regional stakeholders which identify growth opportunities, recognise vulnerabilities, and enable job creation across the nine regions.
The Regional Steering Committees are chaired by senior industry figures and include the Enterprise Agencies, LEOs, Regional Assemblies, Local Authorities, Higher Education bodies, and others, all of whom are focused on creating and sustaining employment opportunities in the region.
Following in-depth consultation and engagement across the regions, each plan will contain a set of objectives and related actions to be delivered by end 2024. These objectives are complementary to and support existing Government and agency initiatives.
The Regional Enterprise Plans to 2024 are currently being finalised by my Department. They will be published and launched across the country in the coming weeks.
My Department has approved over €126 million in funding to 79 enterprise strengthening projects in every region over a series of competitive calls since 2017. This has been provided through Enterprise Ireland via the Regional Enterprise Development Fund, the Border Enterprise Development Fund and the Regional Enterprise Transition Scheme. Together, these funds assisted the development of collaborative regional projects that drive delivery of the objectives developed in the previous Regional Enterprise Plans.
I can advise the Deputy that in addition to the €5 million allocation for regional enterprise funding in Budget 2022, my officials are in the process of exploring new significant sources of funding to drive implementation of the nine new Regional Enterprise Plans. I expect to announce details on new regional funding shortly.
