Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, I want to assure the Deputy that small firms are at the heart of my Department’s business supports and strategies. I am acutely aware of the importance of SMEs to the Irish economy. The latest Central Statistics Office (CSO) Business in Ireland 2016 report states that in Ireland, SMEs accounted for 99.8% or nearly 250,000 active enterprises and over 68% of all persons engaged. SMEs generated 50.2% of total Turnover in the business economy and over 41% of Gross Value Added was attributed to these enterprises.

My Department’s supports for SMEs include access to finance, management development, mentoring supports, business development programmes, market supports and trade promotion, in additional to a range of progressive regulatory and oversight functions. The agencies and offices under the aegis of my Department that work directly with SMEs include Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Local Enterprise Offices, InterTradeIreland, Microfinance Ireland, Companies Registration Office, Registry of Friendly Societies, National Standards Authority of Ireland, Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court, Science Foundation Ireland, Patents Office, Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and the Health and Safety Authority.

I have discussed the need for a strategy focused on entrepreneurs and small businesses with my officials since I became Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation. We have been engaging with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) regarding such a strategy. I launched the “Review of SME and Entrepreneurship issues and policies in Ireland” with the Secretary General of the OECD Ángel Gurría and my colleague Pat Breen TD, Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection on 8 March 2018.

This is a pivotal 18-month project which will see a comprehensive review of the SME business ecosystem and policies, using OECD expertise in a structured and defined process. My Department hosted two study missions in June and November of last year, where the OECD team and international experts met with over 100 stakeholders from multiple departments, agencies, representative groups and business owners. The Small Firms Association along with other small firms’ representative groups, including members of my Department's Advisory Group on Small Business which Minster Breen chairs, and other bodies such as Chambers Ireland and ISME were involved in this engagement.

The resulting recommendations and issues identified by the report will form the basis of a long-term SME Strategy for Ireland. We will hold an SME strategy conference in Dublin in mid 2019; engaging with stakeholders and policymakers to ensure we use the levers available to enact the OECD's recommendations. It is intended to include recommended actions in the government wide Future Jobs Initiative as part of my focus on keeping small businesses at the heart of the government policy.

Areas covered by the OECD analysis include taxation, the regulatory environment, productivity challenges, skills and regional development. It also includes an assessment of the main SME-targeted programme areas, including SME workforce skills, standards adoption, internationalisation, financing and innovation.

I am committed to keeping the focus of the government’s business strategy on indigenous firms. As the vast majority of Irish firms are SMEs, this strategy will be aimed at smaller companies. My Department and I will ensure that Ireland continues to be an excellent place to start, grow and scale a business.

The OECD report is due to be published in Q3 of 2019.