Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 March 2018
186. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if there grants are available to indigenous companies that wish to exhibit at global events relating to their specific industry. [14383/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraEnterprise Ireland is the state agency under my aegis with responsibility for helping Irish companies to internationalise and scale. On an annual basis Enterprise Ireland works with approximately 5,000 companies through a network of market and sector advisers based across 10 national offices and 33 international offices.
Enterprise Ireland provides a range of supports to support companies with global ambition to internationalise. On 12 March, Enterprise Ireland announced that it is set to undertake over 200 international and domestic trade events in 2018 to accelerate the number of Enterprise Ireland clients diversifying into new markets, beyond the UK and into the Eurozone and global markets. The number of trade events being undertaken represents a 50% increase on 2017. This list of Trade Missions and Events is communicated to all client companies and is publicly available.
Under Enterprise Ireland’s recently launched Market Discovery Fund, eligible client companies can avail of funding for Trade Fair participation. For Trade Fair participation, Enterprise Ireland can provide grant support at 50% or €37.5k (whichever is the lesser) for a maximum expenditure of €75K. The Local Enterprise Offices may also be able to offer assistance or advice to eligible companies to participate in trade events designed to grow exports. Contact information is available at localenterprise.ie.
