Trading Online Voucher Scheme

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For Oral Answer on : 09/12/2021
Question Number(s): 101 Question Reference(s): 60748/21
Department: Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Asked by: David Stanton T.D.
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QUESTION

To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise; Trade and Employment the level of support and number of recipients of the trading online voucher scheme in the past year by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

The Trading Online Voucher Scheme offers a 50% co-funded voucher of up to €2,500 to help businesses, which have been trading for at least 6 months, to develop their online trading capability and includes training sessions that cover various topics, including developing a website, digital marketing, social media for business and search engine optimisation.
 
The Trading Online Voucher Scheme has been a crucial support for businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to assist businesses with digitalisation and developing their online presence. Between 1st January 2021 and 1st December 2021, on a national basis, the Trading Online Voucher Scheme had a total of 4,306 approvals across Ireland to a value in excess of €9.3 million. This is strong evidence of the success of the scheme and the demand for the vouchers across the micro-enterprise sector.
 
The Scheme continues to build and strengthen the online presence of these enterprises which has been underpinned by the phenomenal uptake of the scheme in 2020. In 2020, the Trading Online Voucher Scheme had a total of 12,946 approvals across Ireland to a value of €30,774,904. This was of huge importance to the survival of businesses as they pivoted to online sales during the pandemic, and I am satisfied that the Trading Online Voucher Scheme will continue to be a key component in the suite of interventions to assist micro-enterprises to develop and flourish in the years ahead.

1 January to 1 December 2021

Trading Online Vouchers: