· More than 20 State bodies come together to answer questions and provide advice to small business owners and managers
Over five hundred small business owners and managers today (Tuesday) attended a pilot one-stop-shop event for SMEs, ‘Taking Care of Business’, in the Printworks in Dublin Castle.
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 20 State bodies in two strands with presentations in the main hall 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 15 concise presentations were given with a focus on key regulatory requirements and assistance available to help entrepreneurs develop their businesses.
Speaking at the event the Minister for Small Business, John Perry T.D., said: “One of the things we find causes people the most headaches is lack of clarity about what they’re supposed to do, who they need to talk to and where to get the right information. My Department and all of the State bodies here today are committed to proactively engaging with businesses to tackle this information gap.
“We want to make sure that SMEs and entrepreneurs can find the information they need from multiple sources in one place. This is part of a wider effort to communicate better with business; last year my Department launched businessregulation.ie, a web portal that brings together information from over 30 State bodies in one place. Before the end of this year the Government will develop and roll out a communications strategy which will promote awareness and understanding of the full range of Government supports for the SME sector.”
Attendees gained a better understanding of the key regulations affecting them and found out about advice and supports available from across the public sector. The State bodies represented deal with a wide range of areas, including:
· Tax, employment and Health & Safety obligations;
· Legal requirements for setting up and running a business;
· Requirements in areas such as food and environmental safety;
· Advice on government procurement and intellectual property;
· Assistance and supports from enterprise agencies and Local Authorities.
The presence of Enterprise Ireland, the Enterprise Europe Network and the European Commission’s Representation in Ireland ensured that entrepreneurs could also learn about how to take their businesses to the wider European market.
Minister Perry said: ““The high turnout today shows there is a demand from SMEs for this kind of coordinated communication event. It’s really positive to see so many businesspeople make the effort to attend; they are here because they understand how essential it is to make the most of the guidance and supports currently available.
“We have collected a lot of feedback today which will be considered carefully; I hope we will build on this pilot event and hold more ‘Taking Care of Business’ one-stop-shops next year. Future events will only be possible if we continue the excellent cooperation among State bodies that ensured today was such a success.”
A number of representative bodies from industry supported the event and were available to talk to attendees on the day. ‘Taking Care of Business’ was opened by Senator Feargal Quinn, who also chaired the first set of presentations. Heather Ann McSharry, an IDA board member and Eamonn Kielty, ISME Chairman, chaired the remaining sessions.
Speaking at the opening of the event Senator Quinn said: “This event epitomises the kind of informal communication between business and government of which we should be doing more. As a businessman, I know it can seem difficult to be fully compliant with regulation and that existing supports can be hard to find; sometimes exactly the thing we need could be available and we just need to get the right information.”