Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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252. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the resources being provided to ensure transparency, enforcement and compliance in the sale of dual use products, in view of commitment 20 of the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity to facilitate growth in the area, and the additional burden it will place on his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50141/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Under the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity, the Department of Defence has committed to continuing to progress the interests of Irish SME’s to facilitate growth and ensure deeper engagement in the commercial dual use area - both nationally and at an EU level.

I understand from my colleague the Minister of Defence that while his Department will look to develop a more structured approach to enhance engagement with Irish SME’s in the area of dual use, the methodology around this support is currently being developed. The Department of Defence currently only facilitates Irish SME’s during their initial interaction with initiatives such as the European Defence Fund. This interaction is primarily administrative in nature assisting entities in navigating the bureaucratic requirements associated with collaborative EU programmes.

As Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, my responsibilities centre around the control of exports of dual-use and military items under EU and national legislation. The primary purpose of export controls is not to block trade or exports, but to enable the free movement of legitimate goods while ensuring that certain sensitive categories are subject to appropriate regulation. These controls are designed to manage risk, uphold international peace and security, and ensure Ireland’s compliance with its international obligations.

The bulk of dual-use exports from Ireland are mainstream business ICT products, both hardware and software (networking, data storage, cybersecurity etc). They are categorised as dual-use items as a consequence of fact that they incorporate strong encryption for ICT security purposes.

My officials will continue to ensure that export controls are applied in a robust and transparent way, thereby ensuring that legitimate business transactions by reputable Irish traders are not damaged in any way while also ensuring that exports of controlled goods are thoroughly risk assessed in the context of ongoing conflicts, diversion of goods and humanitarian considerations.

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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253. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if, as part of the Scaling Ireland Fund proposed in the new Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity, consideration will be given to the provision of funding to Enterprise Ireland to invest in Irish scale-ups who are seeking to raise finance via stock market listings, in order to enhance the viability of the IPO or financing round and its attractiveness to other investors. [50169/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Ireland has a strong start-up ecosystem, but scaling remains a challenge due to limited access to finance.

In July 2025, I published the Report ‘Market Demand for and Supply of Scaling Finance in Ireland’, which identified a €1.1 billion funding gap for deals starting from €3 million and Series A+ rounds over the next 3–5 years.

To address these and broader challenges my department are finalising a Finance for Scaling Implementation Strategy. This Strategy will align with the commitments outlined in the Programme for Government and supports the specific actions set out in the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity.

The purpose of the Strategy is to move towards an ecosystem in which firms will have a reliable range of funding options throughout their enterprise journey. The Strategy will present a two-phased approach, with immediate market interventions to provide capital to the market in Phase One, including through an Enterprise Scaling Fund, administered by Enterprise Ireland.

The Enterprise Scaling fund is only part of a suite of instruments, to be delivered across two phases that will work to enhance the ecosystem and improve financing conditions for Irish Scale-ups.

The exact design features of the fund, and the wider actions to be progressed under the Finance for Scaling Implementation Strategy, are currently being developed by my Department and Enterprise Ireland. It is important to remember that every company’s journey is unique and in the ongoing work to develop the fund, my officials are aware of the importance of the supporting companies to access the range of financing options, such as secondary capital and the range of investor exit options, including IPO and strategic acquisitions.