Speaking this morning, Sinn Féin TD for Limerick City and Chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade, and Employment, Maurice Quinlivan, said he welcomed a commitment given to him by An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar to look at the establishment of an Irish Enterprise Agency to specifically focus on, and help, our microbusinesses, workers co-operatives, and small and medium sized enterprises.

Teachta Quinlivan said:

“Almost 70% of people employed in Ireland are employed in Small and Medium Enterprises.

“Speaking to these businesses they often feel that they have been left behind, and that successive governments prefer to focus on Foreign Direct Investment instead of helping indigenous industry.

“Small and medium sized enterprises (SME) are the life-blood of the Irish economy – they must be supported, fostered, and helped by the State.

“This is especially true as we face the twin crisis of Brexit and Covid19.

“There are, however, many opportunities for our SMEs to access and exploit, but to do this they need help, advice, and expertise regarding securing investment, expanding their domestic trading ability, and looking at expanding into the European market, particularly to capture the market share of any available opportunities that may arise due to Brexit.

“The greatest potential for jobs growth is within our SME sector, and they must be a priority when it comes to fostering indigenous industry and ensuring job creation.

“The establishment of an Enterprise Agency specifically to focus on helping our SMEs will not only help create new business, but it will also help existing SMEs to expand and deliver more jobs, as well as balanced regional growth.

“The IDA and other organisations have done great work for the mid-west and have helped to bring multi-national companies to the area; but a similar styled Enterprise Agency for SMEs would help develop businesses and create jobs in our regional towns and cities, such as Limerick city.

“Therefore, it is very welcome that An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar gave me a commitment in the Dáil this morning to look at the establishment of an Irish Enterprise Agency to specifically focus on, and help, our SMEs.”