Emer Currie
Question:1055. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment for an update on the review of the grow digital voucher scheme. [57836/26]
View answerTuesday, 28 July 2026
Questions (1055)
Written answers
The Department of Enterprise, Tourism, and Employment commissioned an external report of the full suite of supports provides by the LEOs to small businesses, including the Grow Digital Voucher. The objective of this evaluation was to assess the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, sustainability, impacts, and additionality of the LEOs. The Department has now received the full report from the external consultant and will be submitting this to the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service, and Reform shortly.
A key finding of the report is that digital supports are of increasing importance, contributing to process improvement, digital adoption, energy efficiency, cost-saving opportunities and business resilience.
Reported benefits of the Grow Digital Voucher included a strong uptake on the use of digital tools, process efficiency, and operational improvement of small businesses. Beneficiaries of the voucher also reported that this support provided them with the opportunity to implement practical changes into their business. The results of the report indicate that the digital supports provided by the LEOs, including the Grow Digital Voucher, are contributing to improved understanding of digital opportunities, improved efficiency within the business, improved use of digital tools, and development of new products, services, or processes. It was also found that the Grow Digital Voucher is associated with reported gains in productivity, sales turnover, and profitability.
In addition to this report, my Department is responsible for the Enterprise pillar of the new National Digital & AI Strategy: Digital Ireland: Connecting our People, Securing our Future, which sets out the Government’s ambition to 2030 to strengthen our position as a digital leader and a global hub for applied AI innovation, building on our strengths - a well-established reputation as a digital hub, an exceptional talent base and a vibrant innovation ecosystem.
One of the key priorities for my Department is to accelerate the adoption of digital and AI technologies across enterprises, particularly SMEs, to improve productivity, competitiveness and resilience.
Question No. 1056 answered with Question No. 969.