Written Answers Nos. 1-20
9. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department has engaged with local enterprise offices on their funding allocation in Budget 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53876/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) were created to promote entrepreneurship and enterprise development and act as a ‘first-stop-shop’ for advice and guidance, financial assistance, and business and management development programmes. They provide signposting for all government assistance to SMEs and provide referrals to other relevant bodies such as Revenue, Micro Finance Ireland, Fáilte Ireland, LEADER, and Enterprise Ireland.
The LEO Impact Report 2021 shows they are now supporting 7,158 small businesses, and 35,729 jobs. 7,440 of these jobs were newly created in 2021 and 2021 represents the 8th year of continuous employment growth for the LEOs since their inception in 2014.
My work as Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, involves regular visits to the LEO network across the country to meet with the Head of Enterprise, members of the LEO team and the Evaluation Committee for a briefing about their ongoing work and their future plans for enterprise development. I also meet with some of their client companies – SMEs who are the heartbeat of the local economy.
Each year, my Department engages with the Enterprise Ireland Centre of Excellence to determine the capital requirements for the LEOs for the following year. The forecasting is based on the activity of the previous year, policy priorities and consultation with the LEO network.
Under Budget 2023 an additional €4 million in capital was secured giving a total allocation of €47.8 million, representing a 9% increase in their allocation.
11. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the level of engagement that exists between his Department and the IDA to improve foreign direct investment in the midlands; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53829/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra56. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the actions that his Department is taking to ensure that there is a reasonable spread of foreign direct investment across the State. [53828/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 11 and 56 together.
My Department works closely with IDA Ireland to pursue foreign direct investment across the country, including the Midlands, through IDA’s regional property programme and the delivery of the agency’s strategy. Regional development is at the centre of IDA’s current strategy: Driving Recovery & Sustainable Growth 2021-2024, whereby IDA Ireland is targeting half of all investments from 2021- 2024 to regional locations. The IDA also works closely with my officials on the delivery of the key objectives in the Midlands Regional Enterprise Plan and other initiatives.
IDA Ireland will continue to work closely with existing clients across the midlands and other regional areas to retain and strengthen their presence through continued company transformation as well as pursuing new areas of opportunity for client companies.
The timely provision of appropriate and cost-effective property and infrastructure solutions to meet 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.
IDA Ireland published their mid-year results in July and despite the challenging global environment, the results demonstrated significant additional foreign direct investment wins for the first half of 2022. In the first half of this year, investment levels have exceeded 2021 mid-year results by 9% and 2019 mid-year results by 10%. IDA Ireland won 155 investments up to the end of the second quarter this year. Notably, 73 of these new investments went to regional locations. These investments have an associated employment potential of over 18,000 jobs.
However, we do not take our success in attracting and maintaining FDI for granted. With rising energy costs, climate change, inflation, Russia’s war against Ukraine and increased international competition for FDI, we must continue our efforts to maintain Ireland’s attractiveness as a location for investment and as a great place to do business. My Department is currently reviewing our enterprise policy and exploring several high-level policy questions to ensure that Ireland’s economy remains attractive to enterprise and that we maintain our competitive value proposition.
15. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will provide an update on post-Brexit trading patterns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53738/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI congratulate Rishi Sunak on becoming Conservative Party Leader and Prime Minister. I look forward to working with him.
The UK is our nearest and closest neighbour and we need to have a good relationship with it both in terms of our economy but also in terms of making progress in Northern Ireland.
These are challenging times of war, inflation and global uncertainty and so it makes sense for the UK to work with Ireland and the EU as friends and allies in the years ahead.
We are diversifying our trade links in response to Brexit, but it’s also important that we strengthen our business links with the UK. Our expanding Embassy in London, our new Consulate General and Enterprise Ireland trade office in Manchester and our reopened consulate in Cardiff are all evidence of our commitment.
The Central Statistics Office compiles statistical data in relation to Ireland’s goods exports and imports and these are available on the CSO website.
I think the Deputy is familiar with the data so I will not list them.
We continue to monitor closely the impact that Brexit is having on imports and exports to the UK, the EU and the wider world. As I said, we want to help companies diversify and discover new markets and reap the benefits of free trade agreements and work with them to adapt to changed trading conditions as a result of Brexit.
16. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department has a strategy to attract overseas investors to invest in Ireland's renewables sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53600/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraPutin’s war on Ukraine has highlighted the vulnerability of becoming too reliant on finite resources controlled by other states. While weaning ourselves off coal, oil and gas is a global challenge, it also presents incredible opportunities for Ireland, specifically electricity generated by offshore wind, backed up by battery storage and interconnection, and of course, green hydrogen.
New technologies and offshore wind present significant opportunities for new enterprises and regional development such as developing our ports. The Shannon Estuary Economic Taskforce is currently looking at those opportunities for the Mid-West.
I believe we can go from being an energy importer to being an energy exporter within a generation, with all the benefits that come with it – greater energy security and price stability, employment and regional development.
IDA Ireland has identified the renewables sector as a specific area of opportunity for Ireland. It has established a Green Economy Department to attract investment in renewable energy infrastructure such as wind and solar, renewable energy technologies and services. It also works with regional stakeholders to identify employment generating investment opportunities, including in renewable energy.
Ireland’s increased climate ambitions will require investment of tens of billions of euro in offshore renewable energy. This investment will create high-value indigenous jobs relating to the installation and maintenance of generation assets and associated infrastructure and services, and development of indigenous supply chains, and port infrastructure.
We recognise the need for a whole of Government approach to renewable energy. The Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce, established by my colleague Minister Eamon Ryan, has been set up to accelerate and drive delivery and capture the wider and longer term economic and business opportunities associated with the development of offshore renewables in Ireland.
17. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the total budget allocated in 2021 to the funding of staff roles at the 31 local enterprise offices that are operated in a partnership between Enterprise Ireland and the local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53604/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Local Enterprise Offices are Units within the 31 Local Authorities nationwide and act as a ‘first-stop-shop’ for providing advice and guidance, financial assistance and training and consultancy programmes to those wishing to start or grow their own business subject to certain eligibility criteria. The LEOs also provide signposting to all government assistance for SMEs and provide referrals to other relevant bodies such as Revenue, Micro Finance Ireland, Fáilte Ireland, LEADER, and Enterprise Ireland.
The LEOs provide a wide range of high-quality business and management development programmes that are tailored to meet specific business requirements. Whether it is a new start up or growing an existing business there is something suitable for anyone exploring self-employment as an option or for those who are currently operating a business.
In 2021 my Department allocated a budget of €11.98 million to fund the staffing requirements of each of the LEOs, enabling them to deliver on their remit to drive entrepreneurship and enterprise development.
The LEO Impact Report 2021 shows the LEOs are supporting 7,158 small businesses, and 35,729 jobs. 7,440 of these jobs were newly created in 2021 and 2021 represents the 8th year of continuous employment growth for the LEOs since their inception in 2014.
My work as Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, involves regular visits to the LEO network across the country to meet with the Head of Enterprise, members of the LEO team and the Evaluation Committee for a briefing about their ongoing work and their future plans for enterprise development. I also meet with some of their client companies – SMEs who are the heartbeat of the local economy.
Enterprise development is at the core of the LEOs’ work programme, and it is agreed that each Office will be supported to have in place the agreed staff complement, with the necessary business skills and functional competencies, to support delivery of the services in a client centred manner that is of a high quality and consistent standard across the country.
The staffing complement and budget allocation provided to each LEO is based on their Local Authority band, which is in turn based on their population proportion.
18. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the engagement that his Department has had with SMEs in relation to their cybersecurity measures given the heightened level of cyber risk in recent times; if a scheme will be made available to aid SMEs in updating their cybersecurity measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53778/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt's important that businesses, no matter their size, put cybersecurity at the heart of their approach to the digital transition.
We would advise that individual SMEs always engage with trusted software and cloud providers and promote awareness of cybersecurity issues among staff on an ongoing basis.
The need for robust cybersecurity is highlighted in the cross-government National Digital Strategy I published earlier this year. We want 90% of SMEs to have achieved basic digital intensity by 2030 and 75% enterprise take-up in cloud, AI and big data.
As a so-called digital hub, we shouldn’t accept mid-rankings on European league tables when Europe itself possibly lags the world. Unlocking our digital potential will both help us to stay ahead of the curve on innovation and productivity and move up the value chain.
In June, I opened the Digital Transition Fund and the Grow Digital campaign, which focusses on driving the uptake of digital technologies among businesses in Ireland. This €85m fund will help SMEs at all stages of their digital journey. Assistance is available to SMEs to develop a cyber-security strategy with the help of an external consultant. A similar programme is available to micro-enterprises through the Local Enterprise Offices, under the Digital Start programme.
In addition, the National Cyber Security Strategy includes measures to ensure we play our part in defending a free, open, secure and stable cyberspace. Included within this work is ongoing engagement to assist in increasing the general level of skills and awareness among individuals and businesses around basic cyber hygiene practices, and, more specifically, to raise awareness of the responsibilities of businesses around securing their networks, devices and information.
