Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I thank the Members of the House for the opportunity to attend today to discuss the important work programme of the Department. I will speak about a matter of profound importance to our economy, communities and national resilience, which is the future of Ireland's small businesses and the retail sector. I will apprise the House of the work undertaken to ensure maximum possible resilience is afforded to Ireland's small businesses and the retail sector.

As many Members already know, small and medium businesses are the cornerstone of our cities, towns and villages and the lifeblood of local economies. They employ over 69% of our workforce and represent over 99% of all active enterprises. The programme for Government recognises the importance of small businesses and retail and actively supports small businesses through a wide range of targeted interventions aimed at fostering growth, innovation and resilience. This includes a target to create 300,000 extra jobs by 2030 supported by strategic investment, supportive enterprise policies and a focus on fostering a vibrant economy. It recognises that our small business enterprises are the backbone of our economy and must be supported to adapt to new conditions, innovate their offerings and grow.

Last year, the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, launched the second updated report on the White Paper on enterprise implementation plan. This White Paper sets Ireland on a clear and ambitious path towards achieving a thriving, sustainable and resilient economy. It recognises both the challenges and opportunities for Irish enterprises in the coming years and what needs to be done to prepare them for the future. Of the 40 key initiatives identified across several policy priorities, there is a clear focus on measures designed to help small businesses and retail to navigate future challenges and opportunities, particularly in the areas of the green and digital transitions.

In May, the Minister announced the establishment of a dedicated small business unit based in the Department. This unit will give small businesses a dedicated focus in the Government and keep this agenda front and centre in our Department's priorities. The new unit will also ensure local enterprise offices continue to be properly resourced to help small businesses thrive. LEOs play an important role at local level as part of supportive ecosystems by providing services directly to small businesses and promoting entrepreneurship within towns and communities. LEOs are the first stop for every small business, providing a range of training supports and information plus referrals to other relevant bodies. The White Paper on enterprise notes the significant role LEOs play in strengthening and ensuring our enterprise ecosystem across Ireland. It is a supporting mechanism. SMEs can be allowed and afforded the opportunity to prosper in all regions. This includes increasing the scope of firms eligible for LEO supports as well as increasing the depth of existing services provided to ensure the appropriate skills programme, enterprise supports and business advisory services are made available to assist as many Irish businesses as possible.The strategic framework outlined in the White Paper is specifically designed to strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of small businesses and the retail sector in Ireland. In 2024, my Department published the Local Enterprise Offices Policy Statement 2024-2030 to mark the tenth anniversary of the formation of the LEOs. This statement celebrated the LEOs' achievements over the previous decade. It also highlighted the key areas in which they need to improve. The policy statement also outlined an agreed approach on how the work of the LEOs can be adapted to contribute to the implementation of five of the priorities in the White Paper on Enterprise, namely focusing on decarbonisation, digitalisation, increasing exports and enabling the local traded sector to thrive and stepping up enterprise innovation.

The small business unit is focused on rigorous implementation of the SME test to ensure that the perspectives of small businesses are considered across government before new legislation or regulation is introduced. The SME test is designed to invite consideration of less stringent compliance requirements for smaller companies where appropriate and proportionate. These actions are about reducing red tape and improving efficiency. However, they are also about making supports more accessible to businesses across the country. The SME test will also help to ensure that any obligations that increase business costs are phased in and that there will be consideration of the broader implications of any decision affecting businesses across government. The small business unit will also oversee the simplification of information and access to grants and supports for businesses through the national enterprise hub. The service provided by the hub is open to all businesses in Ireland, and helps them to navigate and find the right Government supports for their businesses. The hub brings together information and resources on over 250 Government supports from 32 Departments and State agencies which can be accessed through its online portal.

Business owners are also in contact with the team and can speak directly with advisers on phone email or via live chat. These advisers help to diagnose the needs of the individual businesses, directing them to the appropriate supports available and putting them in direct contact with the relevant agencies. The national enterprise hub also makes it easier to access Government supports on managing the costs of doing business, developing sustainability plans and enhancing productivity and efficiency, while also adopting new digital technology and ensuring new export markets. Since launching last year, the national enterprise hub has dealt with over 7,500 inquiries. It has more than 220,000 active online users, with volumes tracked each month and growing steadily since its introduction.

The Department is also working on how we can improve the national enterprise hub further by putting a greater emphasis on the simplification of processes for businesses. Since the unit was established, significant progress has been made in simplifying the application processes for enterprise grants, particularly those administered through the LEOs and Enterprise Ireland. Following instruction from my Department through the small business unit, the Enterprise Ireland LEO centre of excellence has completed a comprehensive review of application requirements for each of the LEO grants. This has resulted in an average reduction of 23% in the number of questions being posed in grant applications. Work has also commenced on merging the application process for the digital business and green for business consultancies with the respective follow-on grants, namely the grow digital and the energy efficiency grant. This will result in businesses avoiding unnecessarily providing the same information on multiple occasions. Work on this simplification agenda will continue.

Enterprise Ireland is also driving progress through a programme of work that includes two major initiatives. First, a service delivery transformation programme will introduce a new operating model with technological and data capabilities to drive the delivery of service excellence. In addition, the start-up entrepreneur programme, STEP, will deliver a better start-up journey for start-ups and entrepreneurs by strengthening ecosystem co-ordination while also enhancing national and international connectivity. Successful implementation of these work programmes will simplify and remove unnecessary administrative burdens, enhancing the competitiveness of Irish businesses, particularly small and microenterprises.

With critical segments of our economy undergoing significant transformation, delivering public service excellence is critical in supporting Enterprise Ireland's long-term ambition regarding the export potential of Irish companies becoming the primary driver for our economy and simplifying enterprise grant applications will be a key part of this.

My Government colleagues and I recognise the serious challenges faced by local traders and the hospitality sector. Due to rising costs and other factors, we made a commitment in the programme for Government to bringing forward measures to support SMEs, particularly in the vulnerable sectors like retail and hospitality. In 2024, over €400 million was paid out to SMEs under the power-up and the increased cost of business, ICOB, grants. These grants were designed to help businesses with increased costs associated with running their business. In July, a reclassification appeals process was opened for businesses which misclassified their business supports when applying for the ICOB grant and the power-up grant.

We also regularly engage with retailers and representative bodies, including the enterprise forum and the retail forum, which I chair. These forums allow us to engage on key issues that are relevant to their sectors. One of the issues frequently discussed is that of retail crime. The programme for Government contains a commitment to publish a retail crime strategy which targets actions to reduce retail crime but also supports effective businesses. Building the resilience of Ireland's small business and retail sector is essential in safeguarding Ireland's economic stability and vitality for our communities. These enterprises are the backbone of our local economies and provide vital employment and sustain our town centres in many areas. Strengthening their ability to withstand economic shocks, adapt to technology change and embrace sustainability are really important to ensure we grow to become more competitive in an uncertain global environment. My Department and my colleagues in government will continue to work to ensure that our businesses are fully supported.