Shay Brennan Demands Clarity on Digital Transition Fund Outcomes
Shay Brennan asked how many SMEs have applied for and received funding through the Digital Transition Fund, what total sums have been dispersed, and what steps the department is taking to raise awareness among less digitally savvy SMEs. He pressed for the metrics used to measure impact, questioned plans to extend the fund beyond 2026, and urged delinking from the EU recovery fund to secure continued SME digitalisation support.
Funding and uptake
At the end of 2024 a total of 539 companies had been approved for £45.2 million in grant supports under the Digital Transition Fund, of which 504 are SMEs. To date 195 companies have already received funding amounting to £12.9 million, of which 189 are SMEs. The National Digital Strategy target is that at least 800 businesses will be supported by 2026.
Support programmes and portals
Brennan highlighted the department’s Grow Digital portal, launched last summer, which provides a toolkit and a case study catalogue of digital success stories. He noted direct-to-company supports through Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Oudorosnagilthga, and local enterprise offices offering the Digital for Business initiative and the Grow Digital Voucher. Ireland’s four European digital innovation hubs were cited as one-stop shops for technical expertise and skills development.
Targets, metrics and AI concerns
He asked what specific metrics the department is using to measure the Fund’s impact on SME digital competitiveness and how the department will accelerate progress toward the 90% basic digital intensity target by 2030. Brennan referenced the rapid technological change driven by artificial intelligence and flagged the need for ongoing measurement and adaptation.
Funding horizon and policy implications
Brennan observed that the Digital Transition Fund is linked to the EU Resilience and Recovery Fund, which is not planned to continue beyond 2026, and argued it is vital to de-link and continue funding domestic digitalisation supports beyond that date. The minister acknowledged the points raised and reiterated the department’s commitment to reaching the 2030 target and to supporting SMEs through existing measures.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
I would like to ask how many SMEs have successfully applied for and received funding through the Digital Transition Fund since its inception and what have been the total amounts dispersed so far? Also I would like to ask what steps is your department taking to raise awareness about these digital support programmes among SMEs, particularly those that may be less digitally savvy. Given the goal of achieving 90% of SMEs at basic digital intensity by 2030, what additional measures is your department considering to accelerate digital adoption among Irish businesses? My department established the Digital Transition Fund as part of Ireland's National Recovery and Resilience Plan with the object of driving the digital transformation of enterprise in Ireland. Minister Burke spoke earlier about the drive that there is being made to ensure that all businesses across Ireland reach those targets. The Fund was specifically designed to aid the achievement of the high-level work streams of Ireland's National Digital Strategy, Harnessing Digital, and Ireland's contribution to the EU Digital Decade targets as they relate to digitalisation of enterprise. The target set out in the National Digital Strategy is that at least 800 businesses will be supported by 2026 under the Digital Transition Fund. Good progress has been made towards achieving this target. At the end of 2024, a total of 539 companies have been approved for £45.2 million in funding for direct grant supports under the Digital Transition Fund, of which 504 are SMEs. 195 companies have already received funding to the value of £12.9 million, of which 189 are SMEs. My department, together with the enterprise agencies, continue to make concerted efforts to raise awareness amongst business of the opportunities arising from digitalisation and the help that is available to them to assist them in digitalising their businesses. This was the rationale for the development of Grow Digital portal which my department launched last summer. The portal provides businesses with a toolkit to help identify the opportunities that digitalisation offers them and points to the supports available to them. In a case study catalogue with digital success stories showcasing examples of how traditional and locally trading businesses have embraced digital solutions to boost their operations. This is particularly important to help those digitally savvy businesses. Thank you for the very informative, worthwhile and important debate that we had yesterday in this area, particularly around artificial intelligence. I would like to ask you what specific metrics is your department using to measure the impact of the digital transition fund on SMEs, particularly in relation to their digital competitiveness. I think as we know technology is moving very quickly and as we discussed yesterday a lot of this is due to changes in AI and the changes brought about by AI. So clearly the fund is very important, it is strategically very important and I am hoping that there are plans to extend it beyond its expiry date in 2026, so perhaps you could confirm if this fund is to continue beyond that date. Thank you. Thank you very much for your kind wishes Deputy and also your important question here today. So there are a range of supports to help businesses in digitalisation available under the Digital Transition Fund through the Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Oudorosnagilthga. In addition, the Leo's offer digitalisation supports for eligible businesses including the Digital for Business initiative and the Grow Digital Voucher. These direct-to-company supports are complemented by Ireland's four European digital innovation hubs and these hubs serve as one-stop shops for businesses providing access to technical expertise, innovation services and skills development. Ireland is one of the most advanced EU member states in terms of digitalisation of enterprise and I am determined to maintain this leadership position. I believe we have the required range of supports in place to help our SME base to digitalise, however awareness raising and demystification of digital adoption is an ongoing task that is essential if we are to meet our 2030 target of 90% of SME's basic digital intensity. Thank you again Minister and I very much welcome your commitment to the digitalisation of SME's. I note that the fund is linked to the EU Resilience and Recovery Fund and that that fund is not planned to be continued beyond 2026. So I just want to make the point that it is vital that we in some way de-link ourselves from that fund and that we continue to fund the growth, the vital growth of digitalisation within Irish SME's. As we discussed yesterday at the very useful AI debate, Ireland can and very much should be a leader in this space and can only really achieve that status if we fund it correctly and give it the status that it deserves. Thank you very much Deputy Brennan for those comments and I do take on board in everything you said and as you said yesterday we had a very robust discussion around AI and how that is impacting businesses globally not just nationally. So I take your point on board as Minister Burke has said too in his some of his comments about that drive to bring businesses all into the digitalisation era and that commitment to have 90% of SME's there by 2030. It's a big task but the department and the Minister have put so many measures in place hopefully we can reach that.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
