Written answers
Wednesday, 16 June 2021
Department of An Taoiseach
Enterprise Policy
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source
32. To ask the Taoiseach the extent to which family businesses continue to contribute to the economy with particular reference for the need to so do in the aftermath of Brexit. [32510/21]
Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source
The exact information requested by the Deputy is not available. While the CSO's statistical Business Register contains a classification by legal form of enterprise, the statistics do not separately count family businesses. The closest approximation available is enterprises that are classified as Sole Traders or Partnerships. The latest year for which this information is available is 2018. Data for 2019 will be available in mid-July.
There were 270,344 enterprises in the private business economy in 2018, of which 141,916 (52.5%) were Sole Traders or Partnerships. These contributed 15.3% of total Persons Engaged and 4.2% of Turnover in the private business economy in 2018. The corresponding figures for the years 2015 to 2017 are provided in the table below.
The CSO's recent report on the Business Impact of Brexit on SMEs, which was published on Friday 11 June 2021, contains analysis of how small and medium enterprises have been impacted by and responded to Brexit:
Table: Contribution of Sole Proprietors / Partnerships to the private business economy, 2015 to 2018
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of enterprises | Number of enterprises | Number of enterprises | Number of enterprises | |
| Total enterprises | 248,843 | 250,033 | 271,166 | 270,344 |
| Sole traders or partnerships | 140,479 | 137,061 | 148,394 | 141,916 |
| Share of sole traders and partnerships in total private business economy (%) | Share of sole traders and partnerships in total private business economy (%) | Share of sole traders and partnerships in total private business economy (%) | Share of sole traders and partnerships in total private business economy (%) | |
| Enterprises | 56.5% | 54.8% | 54.7% | 52.5% |
| Persons Engaged | 17.5% | 16.4% | 16.3% | 15.3% |
| Turnover | 5.9% | 4.3% | 4.8% | 4.2% |
Notes:
1. If an Enterprise has the Legal Form of Sole Proprietor (sole trader), it does not necessarily mean there is only one person employed in the business. A Sole Proprietorship may have employees. Conversely, businesses with only one Person Engaged may have a legal form other than Sole Proprietorship (e.g. Limited Company).
2. The private business economy comprises the Industry, Construction, Distribution, Financial and Services sectors (NACE Rev 2 codes B to N, excluding code 64.20 “Activities of Holding Companies”) as classified by the CSO.
No comments