Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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768. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the total funding allocated under the online trading voucher scheme in each year since it commenced and to date in 2016; the total number of vouchers availed of in each year; to provide an overview of the scheme operation, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24218/16]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The Trading Online Voucher Scheme was launched nationally on 1 July 2014, following a successful pilot in the Dublin City area. The scheme is a key action under the business strand of the Government’s National Digital Strategy, and is specifically designed to support small and micro enterprises to trade online.

The scheme is administered in partnership with Enterprise Ireland and the 31 Local Enterprise Offices (LEO) nationwide.  It offers financial assistance of up to €2,500, subject to match funding, coupled with training, mentoring and networking supports to help small businesses to develop their online trading capability. Small businesses, with 10 or fewer employees and less than €2m in revenue, that have little or no capacity to trade online, are eligible to apply.  

Over 2,200 businesses have, to date, successfully applied for a trading online voucher and the rollout of vouchers continues nationwide.  Trading Online Vouchers are activating small businesses and sole traders from across a wide range of sectors including, retail, manufacturing, professional services, food as well as arts, crafts and design.  The financial and performance details relating to the scheme are summarised in the following table.

Prospective applicants attend a half day information seminar delivered by their respective LEOs, and receive training in connection with ecommerce and guidance in relation to the scheme. To date, almost 5,000 business owners-managers have benefitted from advice and peer-to-peer support through their participation in these information seminars.

Applications are received directly by individual LEOs who award vouchers to qualifying businesses on a competitive basis, following evaluation by an expert panel. Successful applicants are expected to complete their trading online project within 4 to 6 months, subsequent to which grants can be drawdown, following standard verification procedures.

On 31 May last, I published the second report into the scheme’s enterprise impacts based on research conducted with over 600 voucher recipients, along with research by Indecon into the size and shape of Ireland’s digital economy.  These reports, which are available on my Department’s website atdcenr.ie highlight the critical importance of digital to economic growth and prosperity in Ireland.

Findings from this year’s enterprise impacts report reveal that businesses that moved online experienced an average increase in sales of 21%, and customer enquiries increased by 84%. Businesses that are growing expect to recruit on average 1.4 more employees, and 3 out of 5 began to export for the first time. Online sales did not displace existing sales for 73% of businesses and 89% expect the trading online component of their business to become more important in the next six months.  It is particularly noteworthy that both urban and rural based businesses benefit equally from the online opportunity. Overall, trading online is contributing to sustainable regional economic development throughout Ireland.

The Government is committed to rolling out the scheme to more interested businesses, and building on the success of the Trading Online Voucher Scheme to put Ireland further ahead of our European counterparts in realising the benefits of selling goods and services.