Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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106. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the amount of funding Enterprise Ireland has provided from the high-potential start-up funding scheme for each of the years from 2010 to 2015; and for each of these years the number of companies which have received funding from this specific scheme; the cumulative number of jobs that have been created after this form of funding was provided to these companies; the cumulative amount of additional exports in euro that have been generated by these companies after they received this form of funding; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34733/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Enterprise Ireland offers a range of financial and non-financial supports to assist clients to win business and sustain and create jobs through all stages of the business development cycle. 

Start-ups remain a key source of employment for the Irish economy and over time many start-ups will develop and grow and emerge as the medium and large sized companies of the future. Supporting Start-ups through feasibility finding, Competitive Start Funds, HPSU supports and the LEO network is critical to job creation now and in the future.

As part of the Enterprise Ireland’s offering in the Start-Up space the agency looks to develop and target High Potential Start-Up (HPSUs).  HPSU companies are defined as start-up ventures that are:

- Introducing a new or innovative product or service to international markets.

- Involved in manufacturing or internationally traded services.

- Capable of creating 10 jobs in Ireland and realising €1 million in sales within three to four years of starting up.

- Led by an experienced management team.

- Headquartered and controlled in Ireland.

- Less than six years old.

Table 1 below outlines the number of HPSUs approved in the years 2010 to 2015 and the total amount paid to them in relation to all approvals from the year they became a HPSU.

These companies have created 4,807 jobs (4,180 Full Time and 627 part time) between 2010 and 2015.

*Payments are in relation to all approvals from the full suite of Enterprise Ireland client offers

Notes:

Jobs Created: Based on Job Numbers per Annual Employment Survey (AES) in the year preceding year achieved v AES for 2016

Exports: Based on exports per ABR year preceding year achieved v ABR 2016

Payments: Based on payments made for all grant types from year achieved to 31 December 2015

Context for EI HPSU Support

Enterprise Ireland, the Government agency responsible for developing Irish business globally, reported that over the period of its 2014-2016 Strategy ‘Driving Enterprise, Delivering Jobs’, 45,592 new full time jobs were created by client companies. This brings the total number of people employed by Enterprise Ireland supported companies to 201,108 – an all-time high for the Agency.

A total of 19,244 new jobs (full and part-time) in Enterprise Ireland supported businesses were created in 2016. Almost two-thirds of these new jobs were outside Dublin, and all regions recorded increases in employment. Digital Technology, Construction and Fintech were the key performing sectors. This translates into a net increase of 9,117 jobs for 2016 (taking account of job losses).

These full-time employment and total employment levels are the highest recorded in the history of the agency. Furthermore in March, Enterprise Ireland announced that its clients recorded of €21.6bn in 2016, representing a 6 per cent increase on 2015. High Potential Start-ups (HPSUs) are a key driver of job creation and export growth by Enterprise Ireland clients companies.

Enterprise Ireland also published its strategy for the period 2017-2020 Strategy – Build Scale, Expand Reach on the occasion of the announcement of its job results. The strategy builds on the success of recent years and sets new, ambitious targets for jobs and export growth.