Written answers

Wednesday, 17 May 2006

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Industrial Development

9:00 pm

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 86: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of small and medium sized enterprises set up here in the past year; the number of such businesses that have closed same in the same period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18401/06]

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We do not currently have precise statistics in relation to the total number of new small and medium sized enterprises established each year. However, during the period 1st May 2005 to 30th April 2006 a total of 17, 707 companies were registered with the Companies Registration Office, which operates under the aegis of my Department. The vast majority of these would have been small or medium-sized enterprises.

During the same period a total of 12,389 companies were struck off; these were comprised of 7,943 involuntary strike offs, 3,208 voluntary strike offs and 1,238 Revenue strike offs. In addition there were 1,223 liquidations notified during the period in question.

Another indication of activity in this area can be inferred from the total number of VAT registrations maintained, on an annual basis, by the Office of the Revenue Commissioners. This shows that, at the end of 2005, there were a total of almost 254,000 such registrations. This was up from 236,000 at the end of 2004, giving a net increase of around 18,000.

I might also add that one of the recommendations of the Small Business Forum, whose report I have just published, was that the Central Statistics Office should publish an annual 'Small Business Release' which would present up-to-date, robust data on a range of indicators relevant to the small business sector. This 'Release' would enable emerging trends to be monitored and key business issues to be identified. My Department will be pursuing this recommendation with the Central Statistics Office.

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