Aisling Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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28. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the actions he is taking to enhance the SME sector in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50576/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I want to assure the Deputy that I, along with the Government and my Department, fully recognise the vital role SMEs play in the Irish economy. In the Programme for Government, we have identified our intention to continue to support these businesses that are the lifeblood of our towns and communities.

I have the pleasure of attending the official opening of the Thrive Centre of Business Excellence in Navan this Friday evening. This innovative project provides a unique space for fostering entrepreneurship and innovation, offering a wide range of supports and incentives, from the broad range of Government services, under one roof, to help businesses start, grow and succeed. This project is an excellent example of how central Government can work hand in hand with local Authorities to achieve greater outcomes and supports for the business community.

Meath County Council have appointed the first permanent Regional Enterprise Programme Manager in the Country, who will operate from the Thrive Centre of Excellence, focusing on collaborative initiatives to deliver enterprise growth for Meath, Wicklow and Kildare.

More broadly, in line with the Programme for Government, we have recently published the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity. This whole-of-government plan focuses matters within Ireland’s domestic sphere of control. It has been shaped by extensive consultation with key stakeholders and a public consultation process.

The Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity identifies 3 main areas of focus to help enhance Irish SMEs and maintain their competitiveness in a global market.

First, by establishing Start-up Ireland as a central coordinating body to enhance alignment and collaboration across the national start-up ecosystem. This initiative will provide a unified strategic direction for start-up development, including the rollout of a new National Accelerator Programme, as a successor to the National Digital Research Centre (NDRC). Start-up Ireland will also act as a national focal point for policy, investment, ecosystem development and aligning with European and global best practices.

Secondly, by establishing an SME Scaling Fund to increase the available public capital for direct and indirect investment to support scaling, to improve access and choice for founders, and to encourage new private capital into Irish market.

Thirdly, by developing policy actions that will incentivise pension fund and institutional investor participation, either directly or indirectly, into scaling equity funds to further enhance the Irish scaling ecosystem and consider options for the development of incentives for the participation of retail savings in capital markets.

My Department has previously identified, through the White Paper on Enterprise, that Decarbonisation, Digitalisation and encouraging small businesses to start exporting are among the main tools we can use to enhance the competitiveness of Irish SMEs.

Enterprise Ireland’s strategy, ‘Delivering for Ireland, Leading Globally (2025 – 2029),’ aims to accelerate sustainable Irish business growth. It supports SMEs through financial, policy, and strategic initiatives focused on innovation, digitalisation, leadership, and scaling. These efforts reflect our ongoing commitment to creating a supportive environment for SMEs and recognising their central role in Ireland’s economic success.

This is further supported by the Local Enterprise Office Policy Statement 2024 – 2030, which outlines how, through a variety of programmes and campaigns, the LEOs foster a strong entrepreneurial culture and promote enterprise nationally. Above all, there is an emphasis on a consistency of approach across the LEO network and a clear intention to contribute to the implementation of five of the priorities of the White Paper on Enterprise by encouraging small businesses to take steps to decarbonise, digitalise and seek growth through exports.