Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The recently published White Paper on Enterprise sets out the Government's strategy for entrepreneurship and was informed by the SME and entrepreneurship growth plan, which is a strategic blueprint for SMEs and entrepreneurs to start up, scale up and access foreign markets, as well as helping them to navigate the transition to a low carbon, digital economy.

As part of the implementation of the White Paper we will focus our efforts on developing an integrated approach that accelerates start-up growth and scaling and includes access to public and private funding, investment in research and development and innovation, access to skills, an appropriate regulatory environment as well as a tax system that encourages investment in start-ups and scaling.

In response to the Government’s strategic blueprint for entrepreneurship, Enterprise Ireland’s strategy sets out an ambition for Ireland to be a world-leading location to start and scale a business, with a target of a 20% increase in the number of high potential start-ups by 2024. This will be achieved by increasing the number of new entrepreneurs, fast growing start-ups and high potential start-ups across the regions, and by the commercialisation of research and innovation-driven entrepreneurship.

Enterprise Ireland works closely with the local enterprise offices and other entrepreneurship stakeholders and third level institutions, to provide companies of all sizes with a flexible, proactive and support model, responding to their growth and development needs. The White Paper also recognises the expanding role of the local employment offices as the first-stop-shop for guidance, financial assistance, mentoring and training for anyone intending to start or grow a business. This afternoon the Minister and Ministers of State will attend the quarterly meeting of the SME and entrepreneurship stakeholders where issues such as this will be discussed. We will look at new and innovative implementation policies that can be incorporated also.

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