Government confirm new small business policy

The Government has announced that it is in the process of developing a major new policy on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurship.

The policy is part of Future Jobs Ireland, a whole-of-Government initiative which aims to prepare the Irish economy for the future.

The announcement was made by An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar TD, Heather Humphreys TD, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, and Pat Breen TD, Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, at a conference to discuss a draft roadmap for SME and entrepreneurship policy.

The roadmap was prepared by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation.

One of the emerging OECD recommendations was the drafting of an SME and entrepreneurship strategy document, which will take in entrepreneurship, start-ups and SMEs.

The OECD also recommended that the process for applying for Research and Development tax credits should be simplified to reduce uncertainty and encourage more take-up by SMEs.

An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, said: “70 per cent of people at work in Ireland work for an SME. Small and medium enterprises are the backbone of our local communities, providing jobs and prosperity across the country. Through Future Jobs, the Government wants to nurture entrepreneurship and do what we can to assist small businesses and help them adapt to the needs of the future.” He continued: “Every generation needs to shake up its enterprise and jobs model, otherwise it falls backwards. We need to change the way we work. I want Ireland to be a country that works to live, not lives to work.”

Minister Humphreys also took the opportunity to announce two new funds worth a combined €3 million, each intended to enhance the productivity of firms in every region.

Both funds will be operated through the network of Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) in order to reach Ireland’s smallest indigenous businesses.

Minister Humphreys said: “As we work to boost productivity levels in our enterprise base, these new funds, combined with existing supports, will ensure that we can reach even the smallest business in the most rural area. Supporting micro-businesses right across the country will be central to our success.”

Speakers at the SME conference included Claudia Dorr-Voss, State Secretary from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, and Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen, Deputy Secretary General of the OECD.