Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 114: To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he has a standard definition of a small and medium sized enterprise; the number of SMEs in operation here; the number of staff they employ in total; and any information he may have on the number with less than ten employees, less than five employees and so on. [36900/11]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The standard definition of a small and medium sized enterprise is defined in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC. Enterprises qualify as micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) if they fulfil the criteria laid down in the Recommendation which are summarized in the following table. In addition to the staff headcount ceiling, an enterprise qualifies as an SME if it meets either the turnover ceiling or the balance sheet ceiling, but not necessarily both. My Department does not compile statistics on the number of SMEs in operation here or the number of staff they employ. Responsibility for statistical information rests with the Central Statistics Office.