Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 September 2025
64. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the measures he is taking to address the funding gap that exists for SMEs in Ireland looking for equity finance to scale up; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50577/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland has a strong start-up ecosystem, but scaling remains a challenge due to limited access to finance. A key barrier is the lack of capital for firms at the scale-up stage. A July 2024 report by my department, “The Use of Finance as a Catalyst to Develop a Scaling Ecosystem”, identified a suboptimal supply of capital in the market and recommended increasing State capital, incentivising private capital, and a review tax policy to support gro
To implement these recommendations, my department established the Finance for Scaling Implementation Working Group, supported by expert input and a market study by SQW economic research consultants. Commissioned by my Department and published in July 2025, this study found a capital gap of €860m–€1.3bn for Series A+ funding rounds starting from €3m.
I have directed my officials to develop a set of concrete actions to address these and broader challenges through the Finance for Scaling Implementation Strategy. This Strategy will align with the commitments outlined in the Programme for Government and supports the specific actions set out in the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity.
The Strategy will present a two-phased approach, with immediate market interventions to provide capital to the market in Phase One, including through an Enterprise Scaling Fund, administered by Enterprise Ireland. Phase Two will explore policy measures to enable pension and institutional investment in scaling equity funds, strengthening Ireland’s scaling ecosystem.
