Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

I have met the representatives of small businesses in north Dublin, including Drumcondra and Clontarf, and recently held a public meeting with small businesses across the north side to discuss the action plan for jobs. The concerns raised included access to finance, competitiveness of costs, prompt payments, VAT thresholds, enterprise supports, regulatory burdens, employer costs and sectoral opportunities. The action plan for jobs addresses many of these concerns with specific initiatives. They are in the course of implementation and will benefit small businesses on the north side of Dublin.

A key measure in the action plan for jobs is to facilitate the development by Dublin City University, DCU, of the vacant former Enterprise Ireland site in Glasnevin into an internationally recognised innovation campus, involving a partnership of education and research institutions, enterprises and the semi-State sector. Its focus will be on research active clean tech firms. The agencies under my Department are also rolling out their plans of support for businesses on the north side of Dublin. Enterprise Ireland is actively promoting entrepreneurship in Dublin and provides a range of enterprise programmes and other initiatives for approximately 500 companies on the north side to ensure emerging technologies and business ideas with export potential are supported to become a commercial reality.

In February Enterprise Ireland launched a new community enterprise centre programme for the maintenance or establishment of a strong business development function in community enterprise centres funded by the agency. Enterprise Ireland is funding community enterprise centres on the north side of Dublin, two of which are based in Coolock and Darndale. The Dublin City Enterprise Board and Fingal County Enterprise Board support enterprise development and job creation throughout the north side of Dublin through the provision of direct and indirect assistance for small business. Hundreds of companies will benefit from start-up grants, mentoring and management development training.

We are commencing work on the action plan for jobs 2013 and will welcome submissions from business groups on the north side of Dublin.

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