Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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28. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the steps he is taking to implement the report of the Entrepreneurship Forum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12169/14]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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In consideration of the need to generate a step-change in the spirit and culture of entrepreneurship in Ireland, I established an Entrepreneurship Forum, chaired by entrepreneur and investor Sean O’Sullivan in May 2013 to draft appropriate policy conclusions and recommendations aimed at supporting business start-ups, sustainable growth and long term job creation. Membership of the Entrepreneurship Forum consisted of entrepreneurs and academics with representation also from my Department and Enterprise Ireland. The rationale for establishing the Forum was to take suggestions/advice from people who have actually taken the entrepreneurial route, have direct experience of the challenges facing entrepreneurs and can provide a relevant insight into the responses needed in the current economic environment.

The Forum considered all 74 of the submissions from a parallel public consultation process undertaken in 2013 as well as the outcomes from meetings with stakeholders in the development of their Report. 69 recommendations have been put forward by the Forum in their Report. Many of the recommendations require Government action, but there are also recommendations aimed at businesses, entrepreneurs and industry representative bodies to engage them in building a stronger entrepreneurial culture in Ireland. The Report is an important contribution to our current consideration of new policies to drive entrepreneurship in Ireland. I am currently considering the Report’s recommendations in so far as my own responsibilities are concerned, and I am also consulting with relevant colleagues in Government in respect of their Department’s response to the recommendations falling within their respective areas of responsibility.

The Government have committed to produce a National Entrepreneurship Policy Statement within the context of the Action Plan for Jobs 2014. Through a disruptive reform on entrepreneurship, we have set out a vision for Ireland to be among the most entrepreneurial nations in the world and to be acknowledged as a world-class environment to start and grow a business. I hope to be in a position to publish the Policy Statement by early Q2 2014. The Statement will further expand on the rationale, policies and actions set out in the Entrepreneurship chapter in the Action Plan for Jobs 2014. It will contain a set of cross-Governmental targeted actions to drive improvements in the overall environment for entrepreneurship, thereby demonstrating our commitment to increasing the prevalence of job creating start-ups.