Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My Department and its agencies continue to be centrally involved in supporting businesses through these challenging times. Brexit is undoubtedly the most significant challenge to have faced Irish enterprise in more than 50 years. With less than four months to go, I am determined to deliver on the commitments in budget 2019 which have Brexit at their core, building on the many measures we have already introduced and responding to the evolving needs of business. We started this process with the introduction of a suite of measures in budget 2017 and further measures in budget 2018.

In allocating my Department’s budget for 2019, I am once again stepping up our response to Brexit. My decisions are based on an extensive body of research and direct feedback from the sector.

To start, I am allocating an extra €14 million to the enterprise agencies and regulatory bodies under my Department, which work with firms at the coalface to develop their supports for business.

As part of the increase to my Department for 2019, I am allocating an additional €3 million to Enterprise Ireland and €2 million to IDA Ireland to enhance our global footprint. This will help companies to diversify into new markets as the United Kingdom leaves the European Union. I am also providing additional funding of €3 million to regulatory bodies, including the National Standards Authority of Ireland, the Health and Safety Authority and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, and my Department to enhance their existing functions in the context of Brexit.

I am providing an extra €1 million in capital funding for InterTradeIreland, representing an increase of 17.5%. InterTradeIreland has a vital role to play as part of Ireland's Brexit response. This additional funding will enable the body to meet demand in existing programmes, develop initiatives and support SMEs affected by Brexit.

The local enterprise offices are present in every single county and provide crucial supports for SMEs and start-ups throughout the country. This year, I am allocating an additional €5 million, which is an increase of 22% on 2018. This extra funding will help deliver supports to more SMEs, particularly in the current changing landscape.

I also announced, as part of budget 2019, a longer-term loan facility, the future growth scheme, of up to €300 million to support capital investment by business. This involves collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine, the Department of Finance, the European Investment Bank group and the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland.

I welcome the additional measures announced by the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, as part of budget 2019 that will enhance a number of the taxation supports targeted specifically at our businesses.

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The redesign of the employment investment incentive scheme, EIIS, and enhancements to the key employee engagement programme, KEEP, share option scheme show the level of commitment from this Government to indigenous enterprise.

To further my commitment to the future growth of our SME sector, my Department, in conjunction with the OECD earlier this year, commenced a review of SME and entrepreneurship policies and issues in Ireland. This will be a seminal 18 month project that will see a comprehensive review of the SME business ecosystem and policies, using OECD expertise in a structured and defined process. The resulting recommendations and issues identified by the report will then form the basis of a long-term Department-led SME strategy for Ireland. The delivery of the review document and the strategy roadmap will be completed by the OECD within 18 months of commencement. To this end, I will continue to ensure that we are supporting the development needs of SMEs by providing them with the tools and incentives to grow their businesses in Ireland.

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