Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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347. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if increased specific grants will be offered to home-grown business start-ups to contribute to an innovative, research led economy and reduce over-reliance on foreign direct investment. [30983/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Any one of the 31 Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs), located in the Local Authorities nationwide is your ‘first-stop-shop’ for advice and guidance, financial assistance and other supports if you intend to start or grow your own business.

In the first instance, the LEOs provide a ‘signposting’ service in relation to all relevant State supports available through agencies such as Revenue, the Department of Social Protection, Education and Training Boards, Credit Review Office, and Microfinance Ireland. The LEOs can also offer advice and guidance in areas such as Local Authority rates, Public Procurement and other regulations affecting business.

The LEOs can offer direct grant aid to microenterprises (10 employees or fewer) in the manufacturing and internationally traded services sectors which, over time, have the potential to develop into strong export entities. Subject to certain eligibility criteria, the LEOs can provide financial assistance within three main categories: Feasibility Grants (investigating the potential of a business idea); Priming Grants (to part-fund a start-up); and Business Development Grants for existing businesses that want to expand. (It should be noted that the LEOs do not provide direct grant-aid to areas such as retail, personal services, local professional services, construction/local building services, as it may give rise to the displacement of existing businesses). In addition, there is a Technical Assistance Grant available for eligible micro-exporter applicants who are seeking to explore alternative markets for their product or service.

For anyone interested in starting or growing a business, the LEOs may be able to offer ‘soft’ support in the form of training (e.g. a Start Your Own Business course); a mentor to work with the business proposer; or targeted programmes such as Lean for Micro (to help boost business productivity and competitiveness).

Micro-enterprises may also avail of the Trading Online Voucher Scheme (TOVS) from the LEOs. The Scheme offers the opportunity for businesses to develop their website or digital marketing strategy by availing of vouchers of up to €2,500 or 50% of eligible expenditure.

Anyone with a viable business proposal can also use the LEO to make an application to MicroFinance Ireland, which offers support in the form of loans of up to €25,000 to start-ups with viable business propositions that do not meet the conventional risk criteria applied by the banks. Successful applicants can avail of a more favourable interest rate from MFI if they make their application through the LEO.

The LEO Capital budget was increased by four million in 2017 and was retained this year, bringing the total Capital funding to €22.5m.

Enterprise Ireland supports companies in regional and rural areas to start, innovate and remain competitive in international markets, now and into the future. Enterprise Ireland provide a range of financial and non-financial supports for home-grown business start-ups to scale and succeed in international markets, these supports are tailored to a company’s stage of growth and level of ambition.

Enterprise Ireland’s focus for 2018 is to help clients, including homegrown business start-ups to build on the strength of their 2017 performance by supporting them to innovate, be competitive and to diversify their global footprint - key attributes required to be resilient to economic shocks:

- launched a new Market Discovery Fund to incentivise companies to research viable and sustainable market entry strategies in new geographic markets; and

- launched a new fast-track Agile Innovation Fund which gives companies rapid access to innovation funding to enhance processes and adapt products for new markets.

- Providing supports such as The Be Prepared Grant and the Act On consultancy grant to assist companies, such as homegrown business start-ups.

Enterprise Ireland will continue to work with homegrown business start-ups to assist them scale and succeed in international markets.

I should also draw your attention to the ‘Supporting SMEs’ Online Tool, which is a cross-governmental initiative to help start-ups navigate the range of Government business supports for which they could be eligible. The tool is available at www.supportingsmes.ie By answering the eight questions in the Online Tool, a small business will, in one location, be able to:

- find out which of the over 170 Government business supports from 27 different Government Departments, Agencies and Initiatives are available to them;

- obtain information on the range of Government supports for accessing credit;

- identify their nearest Local Enterprise Office where they can discuss the outcomes of the guide further;

- download all these filtered results into a document for their further use.