Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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32. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if the criteria for the local enterprise office trading online voucher will be broadened to include social media (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29613/20]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Trading Online Voucher Scheme is managed by my Department and delivered nationwide in partnership with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Department of Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht, Enterprise Ireland, the 31 Local Enterprise Offices and Údarás na Gaeltachta. The Scheme offers advice and peer-to-peer support and a grant of up to €2,500 to help small and micro-businesses to develop their ecommerce capability.

The Scheme was launched nationally in mid-2014. By end 2019, some 6,400 small and micro businesses had completed, or were in the process of completing their trading online projects. In addition, 19,000 or so business owners-managers had benefitted from advice and peer-to-peer support through their participation in the information seminars delivered by the Local Enterprise Offices under the Scheme.

In response to Covid-19, funding for the Scheme in 2020 was increased from €2.3m to €39.8m, and new flexibilities were introduced including reducing the requirement for co-funding from 50% to 10% and allowing businesses to apply for a second voucher of up to €2,500 where they have successfully utilised their first one.

The primary intent of the Scheme is to assist businesses to develop their own website to deliver the longer term benefits of e-commerce. However this does not preclude a business that does not operate a website but promotes their service or product through social media platform from applying under the Scheme.