Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The reason information is not available is that European business statistics regulation requires data to be transmitted with a two-year time lag. For example, 2022 data were transmitted in June 2024. The CSO is always trying to enhance the timelines of its publications. It is examining new products relating to signs of life for businesses, which it is hoped will provide a timelier picture of enterprise activity.

There is some good news for County Mayo in terms of information on new enterprises that have been created there. County Mayo ranked eighth out of 26 in 2019 for SME births. This is the first time I ever heard that term. It refers to the birth of small and medium enterprises. It was ranked 25th out of 26 in 2020. It was second out of 26 in 2021 and 24th out of 26 in 2022. However, we must put it into context. Much of the country was closed between 2020 and 2022 during the time of Covid. The figure of 740 SME closures in 2021 is preliminary. The statistics also show that as many new businesses started up at the same time.

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