The Action Plan on Jobs includes recommendations from the Advisory Group for Small Business Report The Voice of Small Business:
- Address the credit needs of small business as a matter of priority
- Implement the Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme
- Implement Micro Finance Fund
- Labour Markets Cost and Flexibility
- Audit and review multiplicity of Licences required by businesses
- Develop public sector supply chain access opportunities for small businesses
- Develop and implement a new model for procuring innovation within the public sector that facilitates effective engagement with small firms
- Make available an official notice regarding 15 Day Prompt Payments Rule
- Develop a Voluntary Code of Conduct on Payments (Private Sector)
- Develop a one page guide encouraging small businesses to ask for help
- Allocate funding for SME management development networks
- Advance the commitment to provide for a new structured and non-judicial debt settlement and enforcement system reflecting the needs of small business / owner managers
Additional Small Business Actions in the Action Plan for Jobs include:
- New ‘One Stop Shop’ Micro-Enterprise Support Structure
- Corporation Tax Exemption
- New Community Enterprise Development Programme
- New HPSU / Inward Entrepreneur / Spin Out Targets
- Pilot Innovation Graduates Programme
- Competitive Start-Up Fund
- New Women-in-Business Start-Up Drive
- Improved legal environment
- Examine options for extending benefit to the self-employed