This week is European SME Week. Fingal County Enterprise Board are running a series of events targetted at local entrepreneurs.

In a welcome joint initiative with the Blanchardstown & District Credit Union , the Fingal Enterprise Board is launching a €2m fund for Dublin 15 start-ups and growing small businesses with up to 10 staff.

Accessing finance is still among the biggest challenges facing businesses across the country, and in all sectors of the economy. In the Dáil, the Labour Party has been calling for the introduction of an SME Working Capital Guarantee Scheme, along the lines of those operating successfully in Singapore and the UK, to ensure small businesses can access the loans they need to keep paying wages and suppliers.