The Minister for Business and Employment, Gerald Nash TD, has today
(Friday) welcomed the publication of Ireland’s Small Business Act (SBA)
Factsheet for 2014.
The Small Business Act is the EU’s flagship policy initiative to support
small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). It is made up of a set of
policy measures organised around 10 principles including entrepreneurship,
internationalisation, state aid and public procurement.
The SBA Fact Sheets are published annually and aim to improve understanding
of recent trends and national policies affecting SMEs across the Union.
The Fact Sheets are included in the European Commission 2014 Annual Report
on the economic performance of European SMEs.
The Report shows that Ireland has a very positive SBA profile, scoring
above the EU average in eight of the policy measures. The Report states
that Ireland offers a friendly business environment, supported by efficient
administration, is responsive to the needs of businesses, and has an
innovative and entrepreneurial business culture.
Commenting on the Report Minister Nash said, “I welcome the positive report
released by the Commission on Ireland’s performance under the Small
Business Act (SBA) for 2014. The Report shows that Ireland is performing
well in 8 of the 9 areas measured by the Commission under the SBA. We are
well above the EU average on issues such as Responsive Administration,
Skills and Innovation, Environment and Internationalisation.”
Figures from 2013 show that across the European Union, 99 out of every 100
businesses were SMEs, of which 92 are micro-enterprises. Two in every
three employees worked in SMEs and 58 cents in every euro of value added
came from SMEs.
“These figures show how crucial SMEs are to the Irish and European
economies. I am under no illusion that SMEs have had to navigate through
some difficult times in the past few years. The 2014 Annual Report on the
economic performance of European SMEs has shown those challenges but also
the progress achieved by businesses across the EU28 in spite of challenging
economic conditions,” said Minister Nash.
“Finance for growth remains an area of focus for Ireland and other Member
States. However the Report does not take into account recent developments
in this area including the establishment of the Strategic Banking
Corporation of Ireland, which will be launched shortly and will make up to
€800m in financing available to our SMEs.”
“Whilst there are grounds for cautious optimism it is clear that conditions
remain extremely tough for SMEs and that further support is needed to yield
sustainable SME growth. I am determined as Minister for Business and
Employment to deliver that further support to Irish SMEs.”
“I am tasking the recently restructured Small Business Advisory Group,
which will meet shortly, with reviewing Ireland’s performance under the
Small Business Act and to make suggestions that could be taken to further
improve our overall SBA performance,” he concluded.
A public consultation process by the European Commission is currently
underway on the Small Business Act. SMEs, their representative bodies or
interested parties can give their views via the link below.