Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to speak about the Skillnet funding that has been announced today for businesses in this country. This funding is for SMEs and microenterprises and has been allocated from the Brexit adjustment reserve fund, which totals over €1 billion. That fund, which was channelled through the Department of Foreign Affairs, was designed to support countries impacted by Brexit.

We already have over 73 Skillnet business networks across a lot of sectors and regions in Ireland and the Government has just provided an additional €11 million. In that context, companies and businesses out there should think about setting up their own Skillnet network if there is not one in their own area or sector. Eligible applicants include industry bodies and private sector enterprises of any size, including sole traders. To find out more, people should go to www.skillnetireland.ie/our-networks. The focus here is on transforming business through talent by upskilling the people in our companies, both employees and managers, in areas like digitalisation, online social networks, customer engagement and preparing for the impact of Brexit by expanding export markets. I wish to highlight that Skillnet Ireland is a wonderful way for businesses to gain free training for their companies. I thank the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, who announced the initiative today.