Carey calls for SME support awareness

Arising from the low take-up of Government supports, a major awareness campaign is to be launched in Clare to inform SMEs of the programmes in place to assist start-up businesses.

And local Dáil Deputy, Joe Carey has claimed the campaign is warranted as there are 80 Government supported programmes in place to support SMEs but “most people don’t know about these schemes and there is a very low take-up rate”.

“With SMEs and regional growth taking a central focus in this year’s Action Plan for Jobs, we need to ensure that all existing businesses and start-ups in Clare are aware of the support on offer”, he added.

The awareness campaign will consist of national and local radio advertising, online advertisements and the launch of a new website.

“SMEs employ 650,000 people in Ireland, and start-ups account for two thirds of all new jobs created. SMEs are hugely important to local business life in Clare and I would urge anyone involved in business in the area to log on to Actionplanforjobs.ie and to use the “Supporting SMEs” online guide.

“By making more businesses aware of what the State can do for them we can support more of them to start-up, grow, and create the jobs we need. SMEs are the engine of our economy providing employment for people in every town and village in this country.

“We want to see SMEs in County Clare and across the country, not only survive, but thrive, as we work towards our goal of returning the country to full employment by 2018,” he added.