Sean O’Driscoll, CEO of Glen Dimplex joined Newstalk Breakfast this morning to discuss actionplanforjobs.ie - a new website that aims to spread awareness about government supports that are available to Irish SMEs.
Surveys have found that 90 percent of Irish SMEs have a poor awareness of the 80+ government assistance programmes that are available to them.
Mr O’Driscoll described the new initiative as far from a PR exercise - emphasising that he thinks that getting this information to SMEs will help to spread Ireland's economic recovery "out to the regions."
The Glen Dimplex boss is one of nine industry leaders who worked with the department, they will also act as ambassadors for the project.
While his outlook for the Irish economy is mainly positive - he does warn, "It is a time to be confident but not exuberant" - pointing to issues in global economy that could affect Irish businesses.
He also says that there is evidence that Ireland's banking system is improving - and that measures like the ECB's quantitative easing programme will help to free up funds to lend to SMEs.
The chief executive adds: "It's all about getting confidence back into the economy."
This project will combine a national and local radio advertisement campaign with an online advertisement campaign and the website, actionplanforjobs.ie.
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation spoke about the new site:
"SMEs employ 650,000 in Ireland, and start-ups account for two thirds of all new jobs growth. At the heart of our Action Plan for Jobs has been improving the supports available for these businesses, and we now have a broad range of supports available for these businesses, aimed at improving their access to credit, supporting their productivity and facilitating them in innovating new products and services."
He continues: "However, as I engage with businesses up and down the country I repeatedly encounter the same problem – most businesses simply are not aware of the supports, often financially very beneficial to them, that are available."
