Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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251. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide a breakdown by county of the 32,000 who started new businesses in 2013; if he will provide the data in tabular form; the support mechanisms already in place to assist this high level of activity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27011/14]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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I understand that the figures that the Deputy relies upon are contained in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Report for 2013. The GEM Report is prepared independently of my Department and its agencies and I would suggest that the Deputy contact the authors of the GEM Report directly in order to obtain the required information. The most recent figures that I have to hand from the Companies Registration Office suggest that almost 6,000 companies were incorporated in Ireland between January and April of this year.

The Deputy will be aware that the vast majority of the measures contained in the Action Plan for Jobs 2014 will impact on the SME sector generally or specific groups of SMEs. Actions around access to finance, the skills agenda, support for research and innovation, support for management development and other capacity building measures are set out in the Action Plan. Sector specific actions covering food and drink, retail, construction, tourism, creative services, eHealth and the Green Economy aim to provide new opportunities for SMEs to win business both here and abroad.

Some of the measures introduced by this Government to assist SMEs to date, include the establishment of the Local Enterprise Offices; improving access to finance through the Credit Guarantee Scheme and the Microenterprise Loan Fund Scheme, and the establishment later this year of the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland; the development of an online tool which details the different government supports available to SMEs; supporting a pilot SME financial capability programme and supporting SMEs in developing an online presence which is vital in order to maximise their export potential.

It is my intention to shortly publish a National Entrepreneurship Policy Statement which will complement the existing business support initiatives in order to ensure that the operating environment is more coherent, responsive and conductive to entrepreneurship. This follows on from the work of the Entrepreneurship Forum which made 69 recommendations to further encourage and assist our current and potential entrepreneurs.