Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 49: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the way he will support small to medium enterprises here to adapt to the changing economic environment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16720/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Irish economy continues to perform strongly in the global marketplace in an ever increasingly competitive world. Ireland's enterprise strategy is to create and sustain an environment conducive to business and to offer targeted support for enterprises to promote innovation, growth and competitiveness. Small to medium enterprises are a key component of this strategy.

Growth in global markets through the internationalisation of Irish companies is the key to wealth and employment creation in Ireland. Central to the attainment of continuous growth in exports is innovation which impacts on every facet of a business. Technological progress and new ways of doing business set new standards and make new demands of firms. A natural consequence of this change will be the introduction of new business models and the emergence of new markets. A particular focus must be on developing new knowledge and new ways of doing things as recognised in Government policies, particularly the National Development Plan 2007-2013 and the Strategy for Science, Technology & Innovation.

My Department and its agencies support small to medium enterprises in a number of direct ways. Enterprise Ireland (EI) recognises the varied challenges facing SMEs in the context of the changing environment and partners with companies to address their needs. In line with its strategy "Transforming Irish Industry 2008-2010", EI provides supports — financial and advice — aimed at developing all aspects of the critical business functions. Financial supports focus on supporting start-ups with a high potential to grow, providing comprehensive funding for R+D, driving growth and innovation capabilities and supporting major projects for large-scale development. Key programmes include:

the Innovative High Potential Start-Up (HPSU) Offer;

the R+D Funding Offer covering Stimulating Research and Innovation, the R+D Fund, Collaboration and Innovation Expertise;

the Growth Fund aimed at increasing the competitiveness of SMEs through business innovation and covering capital investment, recruitment of key managers, management development and staff training and business innovation consultancy;

the Innovation Vouchers Initiative aimed at encouraging a transfer of knowledge between Ireland's public knowledge providers and small business;

Large scale projects with significant R+D projects requiring funding in excess of €3m

Seed and Venture Capital Fund

In addition to EI, the 35 County and City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) provide support to small businesses or micro-enterprises with 10 employees or fewer in the start-up and expansion phases, to promote and develop indigenous micro-enterprise potential and to stimulate economic activity at local level throughout the country. The specific types of formal CEB assistance available to micro-enterprise is broken down between financial assistance such as grants for feasibility studies, employment grants and capital grants and non-financial assistance ("soft supports") such as programmes covering business management, mentoring, e-commerce, enterprise education and women in business networks. The Tech Check Programme introduced last year is also a valuable assistance to small firms carrying out IT audits.

In 2008, the Capital allocation for the 35 CEBs stands at over €20m. This funding will enable the Boards to continue to be actively involved in the area of economic development and ensure that available funds are targeted to maximise entrepreneurial development.

The Report of the Small Business Forum highlighted the extraordinary contribution that the small business sector is making to our economy with some 250,000 small businesses operating in the economy and employing about 800,000 people. The Report contained a detailed analysis of the factors that drive the small business sector and has provided a blueprint for the further development of the sector. Considerable progress has been made on the implementation of the Report's findings, and their ongoing implementation remains a priority for Government.

I am satisfied that all of the above measures and supports will help small to medium enterprises adapt to changing economic circumstances.