Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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23. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will report on the specific engagement his Department has had in County Louth with local SMEs, the Local Enterprise Office Louth, and other regional stakeholders, to identify gaps in enterprise supports; if he will set out any planned additional targeted supports for SMEs in County Louth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61998/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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My Government colleagues and I recognise the challenges faced by local businesses in towns and communities across the country in recent years, due to rising costs and other factors. However, there is a wide range of significant supports provided by Enterprise Ireland (EI) and the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) to assist small and medium-sized businesses across all sectors.

I had the pleasure of visiting the Drogheda Business Improvement District (BID) and the DEE Hub in Ardee this summer and was encouraged by the collaborative spirit shown by the organisations involved in these projects, including Failte Ireland, Louth County Council and the Local Enterprise Office, to ensure Drogheda businesses benefit from national and regional enterprise policies, and also ensuring we provide a bridge between government supports and local business needs.

The Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) located in the 31 Local Authorities are a key partner for small businesses in Ireland, helping them to identify and tackle their controllable costs. The LEO in County Louth is actively engaged with its local business community, working to promote a suite of supports designed to assist small businesses to reduce their costs and become more productive and more competitive.

The LEOs provide consultancy and grants to small businesses across all sectors, in the areas of Lean, Green, and Digital, which enhance productivity and improve competitiveness and help business owners identify opportunities to save time, money and energy. Changes to these supports were also made in recent years to widen the eligibility criteria of these supports, with the Green and Digital Supports now available to small business with up to 50 employees.

The LEO Statement of strategy, 2024-2030, not only communicates the schemes, programmes and grants that are available through the LEO network, but it will be used to clarify the future strategic direction of these programmes. In particular, it emphasises the intent to make consultancy in the areas of Lean, Green and Digital available to a broader range of locally traded businesses.

Enterprise Ireland also supports Irish businesses to start, grow, innovate, and succeed in global markets. They work closely with client companies in every region, including County Louth, to support job creation, innovation, and international expansion. As of the most recent data, Enterprise Ireland-supported client companies in County Louth employ a total of 6,748 people, of which 6,150 are full-time. These figures form part of the national total of 234,454 people employed in Enterprise Ireland-backed companies across Ireland.

Additionally, IDA Ireland provides broad ranging support to existing client companies in County Louth, attracting new investment and delivering strategic infrastructure that underpins long-term regional growth. The agency actively engages with local stakeholders and industry groups to create a supportive ecosystem for foreign direct investment. This collaboration ensures that regional investments have access to the necessary skills, research capabilities, and business networks to thrive. By maintaining regular engagement with client companies and collaborating with local stakeholders, IDA ensures it can identify emerging needs and deliver targeted supports. These efforts help keep County Louth an attractive destination for foreign direct investment.