Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 May 2022
75. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his further plans to assist the self-employed and small business owners; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25236/22]
View answerAt the outset I would encourage any person looking to start, expand or pivot their business to contact their Local Enterprise Office as they continue to provide a ‘first stop shop’ or signposting for all available Government business supports. The Local Enterprise Offices offer supports to all entrepreneurs, provided they meet the general eligibility criteria.
Local Enterprise Offices 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.
The Local Enterprise Offices continue to offer Feasibility Grants, which help start-up companies or individual entrepreneurs with the cost of researching their proposed business or new business idea to see if it could be viable and sustainable, and Priming Grants, which aim to help with the associated costs of start-up. However, it should be noted that the Local Enterprise Offices do not provide direct grant-aid to areas such as retail, personal services, local professional services or local building services, as it may give rise to the displacement of existing businesses.
The Local Enterprise Offices also 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 everyone exploring self-employment as an option.
I would encourage any person starting a business to enquire about the Start Your Own Business Programme. The objective is to assist clients in assessing their business idea, its viability and helps them decide if they should proceed or take a step back. The programme covers topics such as Starting up / getting started, Identifying, understanding, and researching your target market, Developing your Business Plan amongst other vital areas of interest to a new business.
In 2022 the LEOs will continue to offer the Trading Online Voucher scheme, to help businesses develop their online trading capability.
The Local Enterprise Office Green for Micro programme is designed to assist micro enterprises to prepare for the low carbon, more resource efficient economy of the future. This support is open to all micro enterprises with fewer than ten employees. Qualifying businesses will access two days of intensive mentoring including a sustainability audit and action plan, designed to help "green" their business.
Scaling and growing the export and start-up businesses continue to be key priorities for my Department. Enterprise Ireland helps entrepreneurs and start-up companies with business planning, mentoring and development advice, feasibility funding and finance.
Enterprise Ireland supports new enterprises through the High Potential Start Up division. If a start-up business has the potential to develop an innovative product or service for sale on international markets and the potential to create 10 jobs or more and €1m in export sales within 3 years of starting up, they may qualify for assistance from Enterprise Ireland through the High Potential Start-up Programme.
The Innovative HPSU Fund allows Enterprise Ireland to offer equity investment to HPSU clients on a co-funded basis to support the implementation of a company’s business plans. First time and follow-on equity investments in HPSUs are supported under this offer.
The SME and Entrepreneurship Growth Plan provides Government with a set of recommendations, directly from the business community, on how to build a better business and regulatory environment for our SMEs and entrepreneurs. My colleague Minister Robert Troy and I chair the SME and Entrepreneurship Implementation Group, which was established last year to examine and take forward these recommendations.
Through this avenue, ten priority areas have been identified that we feel have the most potential to make a positive impact on small businesses and entrepreneurs in 2022. These relate to: 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; ensuring comprehensive enterprise supports coverage; and increased public procurement opportunities for SMEs.
My Department is working closely with officials in agencies and Departments across Government to progress actions in these areas in 2022. A progress report on this work will go to Government later this year and will be published thereafter.
