- More than 25 State bodies come together to answer questions and provide advice to small business owners and managers
- Focus on access to finance options for SMEs
Nearly 200 small business owners and managers today (Tuesday) attended a
one-stop-shop event for SMEs, ‘Taking Care of Business’, in the Strand
Hotel, Limerick.
This free half-day event was organised by the Department of Jobs,
Enterprise and Innovation 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 more than 25 State bodies in two
strands with presentations in one area and information stands in a separate
area. The information stands were manned throughout the event by experts
who spoke directly to attendees and answered questions in an informal
setting; in the hall 18 concise presentations were given with a focus on
key regulatory requirements and assistance available to help entrepreneurs
develop their businesses.
Opening the event Alan Kelly TD, Minister of State at the Department of
Transport, Tourism and Sport, said: “Today’s ‘Taking Care of Business’
event was designed to give entrepreneurs and SMEs easy access to a broad
range of information that can help them in their business, from access to
finance options, to advice on compliance issues and financial grants. The
Government is determined to make 2014 the year for jobs; to make that
happen we have to make sure that business is getting the message about the
variety of State assistance on offer.
“One of the best things about ‘Taking Care of Business’ is the informal
atmosphere; attendees can talk directly to staff from over 25 State bodies
and get answers to questions they might be reluctant to ask in a different
setting.”
The State bodies represented deal with a wide range of areas, including:
· Access to finance for SMEs;
· Assistance and supports from enterprise agencies and Local
Authorities;
· Tax, employment and Health & Safety obligations;
· Legal requirements for setting up and running a business;
· Requirements in areas such as food and environmental safety;
The event was organised in close co-operation with local agencies including
Limerick City and County Councils. A number of representative bodies from
industry supporting the event were available to talk to attendees,
including Limerick Chamber of Commerce. The presentation sessions during
the day were chaired by prominent people in the Limerick business
community:
· Helen O’Donnell - entrepreneur, Chairperson of Limerick Tidy Towns
and Limerick Person of the Year 2012
· Mary Fitzgerald - Woodlands House Hotel, Adare
· Paul Collins - Mechanical Engineer and winner of National Enterprise
of the Year 2013
Minister Kelly said: “The high turnout today shows that business people in
Limerick and the surrounding region understand the benefit of attending an
event like this. It’s particularly encouraging to see people thinking of
starting a business finding out what they need to know; we need to support
ambitious people to go out there and create jobs with their businesses.
“I was also glad to see Enterprise Ireland, the Enterprise Europe Network
and the European Commission’s Representation in Ireland at the event; they
are helping entrepreneurs to learn how to start exporting to the wider
European market and beyond.”
Today’s event builds on a pilot event in October 2013 in Dublin Castle,
which was attended by 500 people. The feedback from the pilot was
overwhelmingly positive, with 89% of attendees surveyed finding the format
worked well and 80% agreeing that their business would benefit from having
attended. The 2014 events are expanding on the number of State bodies at
the pilot and bringing ‘Taking Care of Business’ outside Dublin, the most
frequent suggestion for future events.
Further ‘Taking Care of Business’ events will be held in Galway on March
25th and Cork on April 1st; to register for one of these events and for
more details including the running order of presentations and the full list
of State bodies attending, please visit takingcareofbusiness.ie.
Another ‘Taking Care of Business’ event will take place in Dublin Castle on
October 16th.
Notes for Editors
The State office and agencies represented at the event included:
· Department of Social Protection
· Food Safety Authority of Ireland
· National Employment Rights Authority
· Data Protection Commissioner
· Environmental Protection Agency
· National Standards Authority of Ireland
· Competition Authority
· Companies Registration Office
· Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement
· Patents Office
· Equality Authority
· Health and Safety Authority (HSA)
· Limerick City and County Council, Clare County Council and North
Tipperary County Council
· Revenue
· Enterprise Ireland
· Limerick City Enterprise Board
· Microfinance Ireland
· Credit Review Office
· Pensions Board
· Personal Injuries Assessment Board
· SOLVIT (informal problem-solving network for EU citizens and
businesses)
· Enterprise Europe Network (EEN)
· InterTrade Ireland
· Government Skills Programmes (including Skillnets and
ManagementWorks)
The event is supported by SFA, Chambers Ireland, ISME, IBEC, RGData, ACCA
and the Hardware Association of Ireland.