116. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if he will provide an update on the uptake of the seed and venture capital scheme; when commitments will be made by Enterprise Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1715/26]

Sentiment score: 0.05

My question relates to the future of a very important scheme that supports indigenous businesses around the country, namely, the seed and venture capital scheme. Will the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment provide an update on the uptake of the scheme, when commitments will be made by Enterprise Ireland, and will he make a statement on the matter?

Sentiment score: 0.35

I thank the Minister of State. I welcome the commitment of €250 million. In effect, it is venture capital provided by the State. From dealing with private venture capital funds, I know they extract their pound's worth. They look for an annual return of anything from 30% to 35% and try to get out of the business after two or three years, which does not provide the sort of space, investment and continuity required for fledgling businesses to succeed, as well as what they need in terms of building up markets, products, etc. Typically, the jobs are pretty high value. In fairness to Enterprise Ireland, it has a good track record in identifying and nurturing those companies and putting the right agreements in place to be able to invest in them. It also gives those companies the space to make their own mistakes and develop and learn as they go.

Sentiment score: 0.38

Regarding a sectoral approach to those investments, does the Department make those decisions or is it left to Enterprise Ireland to decide how to allocate the funding? Who has that expertise, because an element of expertise is required? Reference was made earlier to the geographical distribution of investment. I know it is difficult because we are reliant on small businesses looking for these funds. Can anything be done to make sure that there is some level of geographical distribution of that investment? I do not know the correct way to do that, but it would be interesting to know whether anything can be done in that regard.

Sentiment score: 0.10