International growth that supports real jobs at home is engine that will pull Ireland’s economy back to health - Perry

Thursday 5^th July 2012

“International growth that supports real jobs at home, as well as generating revenue that flows back into Ireland, is the engine that will pull Ireland’s economy back to health. In that regard, the results shown in Enterprise Ireland’s Annual Report are a great source of optimism for Ireland’s economic recovery”, said Minister for Small Business, John Perry T.D. during an Enterprise Ireland event in Donegal.

In welcoming Enterprise Ireland’s Annual Report 2011 Minister for Small Business, John Perry T.D. said, “the results achieved by Irish exporting companies against the very challenging economic backdrop of 2011 is nothing short of remarkable.

“The Report shows that Irish companies achieved record export sales of more than €15BN and created in excess of 9,000 new jobs. The achievement of record export sales bears testament to the quality and value that Irish companies are offering in the highly competitive global marketplace. Their performance is to be strongly commended.

“Indigenous companies are central to achieving growth and jobs in Ireland and provide proportionately three times more benefit to the Irish economy than multinationals this is why the Government’s plan is focused on creating a powerful engine of indigenous business to create the jobs we need.

“More than ever, we need to support new high potential start-up companies. 2011 saw more than €20M being approved to support 93 new HPSUs. A further 19 early stage companies received follow on investments of €3M.

“We must seek to ensure that we have more indigenous companies starting up, succeeding, expanding, exporting, and ultimately creating jobs. New initiatives launched by EI under the Action Plan for Jobs such as the Competitive Start Funds and the Potential Exporters initiative will help ensure that we continue to foster an environment where more Irish companies can thrive and grow and provide valuable jobs and wealth in the Irish economy.

“Innovation is one of the key strategic advantages that Irish companies can harness to gain a competitive edge and win in world markets. The Government, through EI has made significant funds available for Irish companies to continue to make critical strategic investments in R&D. R & D is a crucial part of any company’s strategic planning. Without continuous R&D companies get left behind, their products and services get stale and competitors overtake them.

“With the on-going implementation of our Action Plan for Jobs, the Government will continue to do everything possible to drive the continued growth of entrepreneurial, innovation-led companies that will underpin Ireland’s reputation worldwide as a genuine centre of innovation excellence, across all sectors of business.  These are the very companies that will cement our standing in world-wide terms.

“It is important that all regions of Ireland are ready to participate in Ireland’s economic recovery. Every town and village in Ireland benefits in some way from EI companies who are located all over the country. Contributing to a more balanced regional development and creating an environment for entrepreneurship to thrive, in all parts of Ireland, are strategic priorities for the Government. In this regard I especially welcome that Enterprise Ireland has undertaken these regional briefings to make sure the news is spread as far as possible.”

ENDS