Address by Minister Devins at the first joint plenary session of the 31^st Annual Conference of the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) and the 35^th International Small Business Congress (ISBC)

Wednesday 5^th November 2008 at the Europa Hotel, Belfast

Distinguished guests, Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

On behalf of the Irish Government, it is a great honour to be here with you in Belfast at this joint plenary session of your Conference and your Congress. It is an impressive gathering of world experts with upwards of 800 delegates across both meetings representing countries all round the globe.

You come with a common purpose of seeking the best ways to promote entrepreneurship and to encourage the growth of SMEs. It is a purpose vital to all our economies.

All across the world, small businesses make a major contribution to jobs and wealth creation. In the Republic of Ireland, 97% of all businesses are small (up to 50 employees) and employ some 800,000 people across 250,000 enterprises; here in Northern Ireland, over 99% of businesses are small, while at EU level, there are some 23 million SMEs. From these figures, I think it is reasonable to say that Small and Medium Enterprises are the backbone of all of our respective economies here on the island of Ireland, in Europe and right across the globe. They are, and will continue to be, the lifeblood of all our economies.

The economic and social benefits of entrepreneurship are clear in terms of employment, wealth creation, stimulating innovation and regional development.

Governments in Ireland, Europe and all over the world recognise this central fact and strive to put in place policies to both stimulate and nurture entrepreneurs at all stages of the business life cycle.

Entrepreneurs are the basic building block of modern, forward looking, economies and that is why I am glad to be on this podium this morning to welcome this unique assembly of business practitioners, representative groups, policy formers and academics, all gathered to share your views and experiences and to contribute to the body of knowledge on this increasingly critical topic now that we are facing into more uncertainty and more challenging economic times globally.

The various themes and topics featuring over the next few days are universal in nature and include issues such as:

• Advancing entrepreneurship education and young enterprise
• Access to Finance in terms of stimulating and supporting start-ups;
• Women's enterprise and family business relationships
• Community, ethnic, minority, rural and social enterprise
• Management, skills development and growth issues

These are issues that also featured in the Report of the Small Business Forum whose recommendations has been a priority for implementation by my Government over the last two years.

The recommendations have resulted in the introduction of a number of significant fiscal measures and schemes from the enterprise support agencies designed to assist the SME sector.

Not surprisingly, these themes were also identified in the European Commission’s “Small Business Act for Europe” published last June. The SBA contains a range of actions at EU level and Member State level which seek to improve the business environment for SMEs and which should facilitate their growth and development. Elsewhere, outside of the EU, individual countries are doing similar work to assist their SMEs.

In Ireland, while the level of entrepreneurship is strong in international terms, our greatest challenge is to grow Irish companies of scale. Most Irish enterprises are one-person operations or very small and don’t grow beyond this level.

Those that do, do so largely through early focus on international markets both as an inspiration for new innovative products and services and as the source of limitless opportunity regarding sales. We need more of these indigenous entrepreneurial firms and people – North and South – and we need them now.

I would like to take the opportunity of this formal gathering to acknowledge my Government’s commitment to working with our counterparts in Northern Ireland to implement North/South initiatives where there is mutual economic benefit to be achieved.

Co-operation and actions are being pursued in areas such as science, technology and innovation; trade and investment promotion; labour market and skills; and enterprise development.

Through InterTrade Ireland and in association with the development agencies in both jurisdictions, all-island initiatives are being successfully undertaken. Invest Northern Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and the various County and City Enterprise Boards and Local Enterprise Agencies have cooperated on various projects to assist business across the island.

Many of the programmes undertaken have also benefited from the welcome support of the EU. Sponsorship of this week’s events has come from some of these agencies and many are also participating in your meetings.

This week’s Congress and Conference are also a celebration of entrepreneurs and provide an opportunity to showcase entrepreneurial efforts within our communities. Our aim has to be to make entrepreneurship a desirable career option for our people, especially our young people, and to fire their imaginations to emulate our successful entrepreneurs. I welcome every opportunity to recognise entrepreneurial achievement.

I also look forward to hearing shortly from Terence Brannigan, MD of Resource, who will give us an entrepreneur’s perspective on growing a business and becoming a market leader.

I am delighted to join with Minister Foster, Councillor Browne and Professors O’Neill and Barnett, to welcome you all here this morning to Belfast and to wish for you a Conference and Congress of lively debate so that these events will leave a lasting legacy on this island.

Finally, I hope that you will, from your own personal perspectives, take away with you, warm and fond memories of your time here in Belfast.

Thank You

ENDS/IP71