Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 February 2026
67. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the funding allocated in his Department’s NDP to support home-grown enterprises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13079/26]
View answerThe revised National Development Plan (NDP), which was published last July, provides my Department with an increased total capital envelope of €3.68 billion to fund our capital programmes over the period of the Plan from 2026 out to 2030.
This allocation will be significantly augmented by an additional €1 billion in income that a number of Agencies of my Department expect to generate from equity and related investments over the period of the NDP. In total my Department expects to invest €4.7 billion in the future of Ireland’s enterprise, innovation and tourism over the next 5 years.
As committed to in the NDP, my Department published our own Sectoral Capital Plan last month which set out the details of the areas that the Department will invest in for the period 2026 to 2030.
The Sectoral Plan is essentially centred around the following themes
• Helping Enterprise to Start, Grow and Scale
• Attracting and Sustaining Inward Investment
• Tourism Development and Promotion
• Enterprise Innovation and commercialisation
• Enterprise Decarbonisation
Whilst each of the themes include measures to support home-grown enterprise, the majority of the specific measures to support and grow our indigenous enterprise base will be supported under Helping Enterprise to Start, Grow and Scale theme, including specific investments in the Local Enterprise Office Programme, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Smart Regions Innovation Scheme Programme, the Regional Enterprise Development Funds and the Regional Enterprise Plans.
In terms of the Local Enterprise Office Programme, my Department will invest over €250 million in capital funding in the LEO programme over the next five years. The network of LEO offices around the country are key to driving the development of local enterprises and promoting local, micro and small business throughout our towns and villages.
The Smart Regions Enterprise Innovation Scheme supports development of local enterprise infrastructure, innovation clusters, innovation services to SMEs and early stage feasibility and priming research.
The Regional Enterprise Development Fund will focus on providing essential enterprise infrastructure and associated supports to benefit regions across the country. This investment will ensure that economic opportunities are evenly distributed and aligned with the objectives of the Regional Enterprise Plans and the National Smart Specialisation Strategy for Innovation.
Ireland’s economy has shown remarkable resilience in recent years, achieving record employment and export growth despite global uncertainty. My Department's Sectoral Capital Plan provides a strategic framework to ensure Ireland remains a leading location to work, do business and visit. It aligns fully with the Programme for Government, the Department’s Statement of Strategy 2025–2028, and the Action Plans on Competitiveness and Productivity, Market Diversification and Tourism.
