Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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363. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the degree to which enterprise led by women continues to be supported and promoted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31002/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Female founders have traditionally been under-represented in start-ups, and that is why my Department and its agencies have a range of initiatives aimed at supporting women to start and scale businesses that provide quality jobs throughout the country.

Enterprise Ireland (EI) is committed to supporting cohorts of ambitious, capable founders, and placing them on faster growth trajectories. Research undertaken by EI in 2012 found that there were a number of key inhibitors to female entrepreneurship rates and developed an integrated strategy to address these issues and increase the number of female-founded start-ups in Ireland.

One of the key ways in which EI supports female entrepreneurship is through its dedicated Competitive Start Funds.  The first Competitive Start Fund for Female Entrepreneurs was launched in 2012. Since then there have been 8 dedicated female competitive start funds.

The purpose of these targeted Funds is to accelerate the growth of female founded start-up companies that have the potential to employ more than 10 people and achieve €1 million in export sales within three years. This is achieved by putting a €50,000 equity investment in the company. The Funds are designed to enable companies to reach key commercial and technical milestones, which will ensure the delivery of their product or service to an international audience.

The most recent Competitive Start Fund for female entrepreneurs, which I launched earlier this year, made a total of €1m funding available for up to 20 female-led companies. EI received over 100 funding applications for this Fund and the final selection for funding is currently taking place.

In 2017, 46 per cent of all companies who received CSF investment from Enterprise Ireland were female founded.

Another key Enterprise Ireland initiative is the Going for Growth programme. Currently in its 10th cycle, the initiative supports female entrepreneurs who have been trading for at least two years and are strongly focussed on growth. For zero fee, participants are offered a unique learning environment with a peer-led approach based on the shared experiences of both the Lead Entrepreneur and the other participants facing similar challenges. Feedback shows that participants’ businesses experienced a growth in sales over the 9th cycle of over €20million and employment rose by 17.5%.

Every year EI holds a Fuelling Ambition Roadshow, which aims to encourage, support and drive the ambition of female entrepreneurs (existing and new) nationally by showcasing thriving Irish female entrepreneurs. A total of 7 roadshow events were held in 2018, attended by c600 female entrepreneurs, across the country during March, April and May in Waterford, Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Killarney, Monaghan and Roscommon. 

The Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are also actively engaged in encouraging and inspiring an increase in female-led businesses through initiatives such as the annual National Women’s Enterprise Day and the Women in Business Networks. Last year we saw the National Women’s Enterprise Day rolled out on a regional basis.

Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE) Programme, run by the LEOS, has also been strongly supportive of female entrepreneurs. Since it began in 2014 over 1430 applicants (over 37% of total applicants) have been female.

We are making progress. The number of female founded start-ups supported by EI has increased from 12 in 2011 to 67 in 2017.  This includes a significant increase in the proportion of female founded High Potential Start-ups supported by EI which accounted for 28% of EI HPSUs in 2017 compared to 7% in 2011. In addition, 61% of participants attending LEO training programmes in 2017 were female while 46% of the LEO mentoring participants were female.

I feel confident that with continued support we will continue to see increases in female led businesses in Ireland.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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364. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which the appropriate authorities at EU level continue to offer support by way of innovation, technology or other expertise in anticipation of Brexit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31003/18]

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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Horizon 2020 is the current EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. This is the EU programme which supports research and innovation throughout the 28 EU Member States. Funding is secured for the final work programme for Horizon 2020 which will run until the end of 2020. Brexit is therefore not expected to have a significant impact upon the activity or the funding for Horizon 2020.

In terms of European research and innovation activities, the UK is one of a number of important collaborators for Ireland under Horizon 2020. In addition to the UK, Ireland has a diversified range of collaborative links with Member States, particularly Germany, Spain and France. An analysis of Ireland's collaborations under Horizon 2020 indicates that collaborations occur in multi partner projects and that Ireland is not overly dependent on the UK for scientific collaboration in successful EU programmes.

The European Commission has recently published its proposals for the next Framework Programme, named Horizon Europe. The new proposal contains an increase in overall funding for the support of research and innovation in the remaining 27 member states, and is currently under discussion between the Commission and the Member States.

The UK has indicated that it would like the option to fully associate with the EU's research and innovation programmes.