Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 June 2026
69. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to outline the measures in place in Ireland to support the development of venture capital to invest in Irish start-ups. [46397/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraSupporting Irish SMEs to scale and grow is a key priority for my Department and is reflected in the Government’s Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity.
The Seed and Venture Capital Scheme is the primary source of public indirect equity investment in venture capital funds that provide financing to innovative Irish start-ups. To date, over €700 million has been committed under the Scheme, leveraging total investment of approximately €3.3 billion. The Scheme aims to increase the supply of risk capital to Irish SMEs and start-ups, support their growth, leverage private sector investment, and contribute to the development of a sustainable venture capital sector.
The Scheme operates in five-year cycles. The current cycle, covering 2025 to 2029, has a total allocation of €250 million, reflecting a €75 million increase on the previous programme. This is intended to support larger fund sizes and improve the availability of follow-on capital.
My Department also oversees the Irish Innovation Seed Fund (IISF), managed by the European Investment Fund in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland. The IISF has a total size of €90 million, comprising €30 million from Enterprise Ireland, matched by €30 million from the EIF, with a further €30 million co-invested by the Irish Strategic Investment Fund on a deal-by-deal basis. The fund invests in commercially focused venture capital funds targeting pre-seed and seed-stage companies across Enterprise Ireland-supported sectors, including ICT, Life Sciences, and Climate.
While these measures strengthen early-stage finance, access to scaling finance remains a key challenge. The Market Demand for and Supply of Scaling Finance in Ireland report (July 2025) identified a funding gap of €1.1 billion for deals above €3 million over the next three to five years.
In response, my Department is exploring policy measures to strengthen scaling finance, in line with Programme for Government commitments. The policy objective is to enhance the overall investment ecosystem and increase capital available to support Irish companies to scale.
