Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 October 2023
43. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the steps his Department is taking to ensure that SMEs can continue to grow and create jobs in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43844/23]
View answerSmall and Medium Enterprises are vital to the local economies in our regions, towns and villages.
Recognising this and to ensure that our priorities of digitalisation and decarbonisation can continue to be addressed, the Local Enterprise Offices have been allocated an additional €9m in capital funding under Budget 2024. This represents a significant increase on the funding and reflects the ambition this government has for the Local Enterprise Offices to help businesses across the country.
This investment coincides with the 10-year anniversary of the establishment of the Local Enterprise Offices and will allow each of the 31 Local Enterprise Offices to continue assisting new and existing small businesses to Start and Grow, providing new employment opportunities to communities throughout Ireland.
The expansion of the LEOs remit this year, allowing for the provision of grant assistance to businesses employing up to 50 employees with a clear export plan, is crucial to bridging the perceived gap in supports for businesses to grow and reach their potential and the LEOs will receive similar investment for this in 2024.
In line with commitments made through the White Paper on Enterprise, the expanded LEOs remit has seen an increase in engagement with the locally trading sectors, providing mentoring, training and development supports to locally trading businesses, while encouraging these businesses to consider developing their export potential.
Enterprise Ireland provides SMEs with access to financial resources through grants, equity investments, and other financial instruments, enabling them to invest in job creation, scale their output, and focus on innovation, research, and development. These funds enhance competitiveness and product development, ultimately driving growth.
Supporting Irish-owned companies to achieve greater scale, digitalise, decarbonise and expand their global footprint is a priority for Government and the additional €8m allocated to Enterprise Ireland green and digital schemes in Budget 2024, shows our commitment to supporting Irish companies on their journey to become global leaders in their field, ensuring they continue creating and sustaining jobs, providing a platform for strong economic growth into the future.
To further improve our assistance for businesses, as part of Budget 2024, the Government announced a new National Enterprise Hub which will include a dedicated website and phone line with a Hub Advisor to help businesses access State supports. Any business, including SMEs, can call it for direct help in navigating the comprehensive suite of supports that are being offered to business throughout Ireland.
Enterprise Ireland has, in its 2022 – 2024 strategy, committed to working with the LEOs, to deliver an integrated advisory and funding system to drive success for new exporters, and provide a clear pathway for progression from the LEOs to Enterprise Ireland for small companies with the potential to export.
