Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

Small and medium sized businesses account for more than 97% of companies in Ireland and the sector employs in excess of 800,000 people. In my reply to the previous priority question from the Deputy I fully acknowledged the importance of the sector and my ongoing commitment to support it.

My Department and its agencies will play an important role in working through the current economic circumstances and in making sure that we are well positioned to reap the benefits that will undoubtedly arise when the situation improves. We will do this by continuing to work to attract foreign direct investment, helping Irish businesses to develop and grow their exports, by continuing to prioritise investment in science, technology and innovation and by providing supports to small businesses. We will also ensure that adequate retraining and support services are available for those who have recently lost their jobs.

The fundamental objective is to sustain and grow employment by driving investment and promoting export growth in a challenging global environment. Success in overseas markets will generate wealth that will sustain prosperity and employment throughout all parts of the country. The allocations in my Department's Estimates for 2009, particularly to the IDA and Enterprise Ireland, will ensure that we continue to build on this strategy for the future.

My Department's continuous support for indigenous companies arises through maintaining a positive business environment and through particular interventions from the State development agencies such as Enterprise Ireland, FÁS and the city and county enterprise boards. In particular, Enterprise Ireland is the agency with responsibility for supporting the development of Irish companies with ambitions to grow in world markets. Many of its client companies are small to medium in size. Enterprise Ireland recognises the varied challenges facing such companies in the context of the changing economic environment.

In addition to Enterprise Ireland, the 35 county and city enterprise boards provide support to small businesses or micro-enterprises with ten employees or fewer. CEB funding will increase next year by almost €3 million, or 9%, to €34.8 million and this represents a further indication of the Government's commitment to supporting this sector of business.

The county and city enterprise boards have developed a structure capable of generating and tapping into enterprise at local level. They have been particularly effective in their ability to respond to the needs of micro-enterprise. The 2009 allocation for the CEBs recognises the need for access to practical business information and supports for small companies, and the importance of continuing to promote entrepreneurship at this time.

FÁS, through its One Step Up programme, is encouraging employees to increase their competency levels and promoting an ethos of lifelong learning in the workplace. Its key intervention in this regard is the competency development programme which offers workers different types of training programmes directed at various skill levels across major economic sectors. These training programmes are available to employees of SMEs. FÁS also has a number of other training programmes aimed at upskilling SMEs namely through Skillnets and the strategic alliance programme. Priority is given to programmes aimed at the upskilling of low-skilled workers, these programmes, in the main, will be at or below level 5 equivalent on the national framework of qualifications.

The Government has already made very considerable progress on the implementation of the Small Business Forum's report recommendations. This progress is reflected through a substantial package of financial measures and schemes introduced to assist the sector over the last two years, including fiscal measures in the Finance Acts 2007 and 2008.

I am satisfied that the range of measures and supports provided will continue to help small to medium enterprises adapt to the current economic climate. Of course, these measures will be kept under review to ensure that they remain appropriate to the current circumstances.

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