Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
Link to this: Individually | In context

78. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department has conducted or plans to conduct any reviews into the barriers Mayo based SMEs face in accessing Government business grants; and if he will consider streamlining the application process to boost uptake in rural counties. [33215/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Last year my department launched the National Enterprise Hub as a service open to all businesses to help them access and find the right Government support to help their business. Its overall goal is to simplify access to the many grants and supports available to businesses across Government.

It provides business owners with an easy entry point to the wide enterprise supports eco-system. The National Enterprise Hub provides access to a team of expert advisers through a dedicated phone line and enquiry form. The advisers help to diagnose the needs of the individual business, directing them to the appropriate available supports or indeed put them in direct contact with the relevant agency.

The Hub is a centralised signposting service for over 250 Government supports as well as outbound contact with businesses to encourage take up of available assistance in areas such as decarbonisation, digitalisation, skills development and innovation.

My Department chairs a coordination group with representatives from Government Departments and agencies to ensure the National Enterprise Hub includes comprehensive and up to date information on the range of business supports available across Government Departments and Agencies. Through the insights and data from the NEH, changes or updates to schemes to improve access will be considered. My Department is also looking at ways to simplify and streamline access to grants through the NEH.

In addition, the Local Enterprise Office Policy Statement outlines how the work of the LEOs will adapt to contribute to the implementation of five of the priorities of the White Paper on Enterprise – decarbonisation, digitalisation, increasing exporters, enabling the locally traded sector to thrive, and stepping up enterprise innovation.

Action 4 of the Policy Statement commits to a review of all existing LEO schemes, with consideration to be given to the eligibility criteria, and where identified, that schemes will be simplified and rationalised to ease the administrative burden on small businesses. This action also commits that any new programmes introduced will be based on common eligibility criteria to ensure consistency across the LEO network of supports offered and to make navigation easier for businesses. A full review of the supports offered through the Local Enterprise Offices will commence later this year with the evaluation informing future changes and improvements to LEO schemes.