Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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90. To ask the Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment his views on the extent to which women continue to head up new enterprises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30883/20]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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My Department and its agencies are working continuously to address the under-representation of women across the enterprise sector. Increasing female participation in entrepreneurial activity acts an important driver of economic growth, it increases the diversity and strength of our indigenous business sector and can strengthen social inclusion.

Enterprise Ireland, which is under the remit of my Department, has placed a focus on increasing the number of women-led start-ups and the number of women in leadership positions in companies. To support this, in early 2020, Enterprise Ireland launched an Action Plan for Women in Business with the objective of:

- Increasing the number of women-led established companies growing internationally;

- Increasing the number of women in middle and senior management and leadership roles in Irish companies;

- Increasing the number of women becoming entrepreneurs; and

- Increasing the number of women-led start-ups with high growth potential.

The 2025 ambition for the delivery of the objectives is to achieve:

- 100 per cent increase the number of women-led companies growing internationally;

- 100 per cent increase in participation rate of women on Enterprise Ireland Management Development programmes;

- 50 per cent increase in women participants on start-up programmes;

- 50 per cent increase in Local Enterprise Office supports to women in business; and

- 30 per cent Increase the proportion of female founded High Potential Start-Ups.

The launch of this action plan by Enterprise Ireland builds on the success of Enterprise Ireland’s strategy for female entrepreneurship which has resulted in an increase in the number of female High Potential Start-Up founders. Work is now commencing to implement the Action Plan for Women in Business.

Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Office Network have also actively spotlighted and developed specific structures to encourage female entrepreneurship. This includes the introduction of a female only Competitive Start Up Fund in Enterprise Ireland, and established female specific tailored mentoring and training across the 31 Local Enterprise Offices nationwide.

Enterprise Ireland has also developed a series of female accelerator programmes in partnership with knowledge providers such as Going for Growth and the NDRC Female Founders Programme.

Role modelling is essential to encouraging more women to establish a business. My Department has worked intensively to shine a light of female entrepreneurship through identification and promotion of female role models with targeted events and awards, including Network Ireland’s - Business Networking for Women Across Ireland and the Planet Woman Academy.

The recently established SME Taskforce will bring forward a national SME Growth Plan next month. The SME Growth Plan will set out a long-term strategic framework for SME and entrepreneurship policy in Ireland. This will be an opportunity to examine measures to increase the number of new entrepreneurs starting businesses, including women and other under-represented groups. I will receive those proposals in the coming weeks.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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91. To ask the Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment the number of new enterprises in manufacturing and services sectors in which a woman is chief executive; the extent to which this number has fluctuated in the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30884/20]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) collects primary data on entrepreneurship across countries including Ireland.

In the 2019 GEM report 'Entrepreneurship in Ireland 2019', new business owners are defined as those who have started a new business between January 2016 and June 2019 and have paid salaries for at least three months. These entrepreneurs at least part own and continue to manage the new business. Over this period there were approximately 127,100 new business owners in Ireland. Approximately 68% (or 86,400) were male and 32% (or 40,700) were female. In 2018, these proportions were 61% male and 39% female.

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report for Ireland is available at the following link: