Published on 

Minister Pat Breen welcomes Taking Care of Business Event to Mid-West

  • 29 state bodies, agencies and services come together to answer questions and provide answers to small business owners, managers and entrepreneurs.
  • Focus on access to finance for SME’S.

Over 200 small-business owners, managers and those interested in starting their own business today (Tuesday) attended a one-stop-shop event for SMEs, Taking Care of Business, in The Radisson Blu Hotel and Spa on the Ennis Road, Limerick.

This free half-day event was an initiative of the Government of Ireland and organised by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation – in conjunction with the Health and Safety Authority and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland - to provide people thinking of starting a business, and existing entrepreneurs, with the information they need from across the public sector.

Taking Care of Business brought together 29 state and public-sector bodies, agencies and services in two strands, with presentations in one area and information stands in a separate area. Nearly 2,500 people have attended events such as this since 2013 to learn about key regulatory requirements and assistance available to help entrepreneurs develop their businesses. 

Giving the keynote speech at the event, the Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen, T.D., said “I believe that Taking Care of Business is a further demonstration of our commitment to reach out to the business community, and to promote awareness of the full range of supports available to the SME sector, start-ups and entrepreneurs. It is also a sign of our commitment to regional development.

“We all need small businesses to thrive, so I welcome efforts such as this to provide advice on so many aspects of regulation and tell people about the supports available to them.”

The State bodies represented deal with a wide range of areas, including:

  • Access to finance for SMEs;
  • Assistance and supports from enterprise agencies;
  • Tax, Employment and Health & Safety obligations;
  • Legal requirements for setting up and running a business;
  • Requirements in areas such as food safety;
  • Advice on government procurement and intellectual property;

A number of representative bodies from industry supported the event and were available to talk to attendees on the day. The three sessions of presentations in Taking Care of Business were chaired by Helen Downes, Chief Executive of Shannon Chamber, Frank Murray, Managing Partner of The Linkage-Partnership and Mike Cantwell CEO of Innovate Limerick.

For more details including the running order of presentations and the full list of State bodies attending, please visit takingcareofbusiness.ie. It is also intended to have the presentations on the DBEI website in due course.

Notes for Editors

The State and public-sector offices, agencies and services represented:

  1. Local Enterprise Offices
  2. Revenue Commissioners
  3. Enterprise Ireland
  4. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission
  5. Companies Registration Office
  6. Food Safety Authority of Ireland
  7. Health and Safety Authority
  8. Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement
  9. Workplace Relations Commission
  10. Office of Government Procurement
  11. Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
  12. Data Protection Commission
  13. National Standards Authority of Ireland
  14. Microfinance Ireland
  15. Credit Review Office
  16. Prompt Payment Code
  17. Personal Injuries Assessment Board
  18. Science Foundation Ireland
  19. Skillnet Ireland (supporting and working with businesses to address their current and future skill needs)
  20. Regional Skills Mid-West
  21. Health Products Regulatory Authority
  22. Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland
  23. Solvit (informal problem-solving network for EU citizens and businesses)
  24. Patents Office
  25. IntertradeIreland
  26. Enterprise Europe Network
  27. Supporting SMEs online tool (Access to Finance)
  28. Southern Region Waste Management Office
  29. Trade Licensing and Control

This ‘Taking Care of Business’ Mid-West event was also supported by the Small Firms Association, Chambers Ireland, Shannon Chamber, Limerick Chamber, Ennis Chamber, County Tipperary Chamber, ISME, RGDATA, ACCA, IBEC, IDA Ireland, the Construction Industry Federation, the Hardware Association of Ireland, the Linkage-Partnership, and Innovate Limerick.

The twitter hashtags for the event:  #supportforbusiness and #TCOB2018