Minister outlines enterprise ambitions ahead of Budget 2026 at Leitrim event

Peter Burke TD, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, set out plans for Ireland’s enterprise sector at an event in Carrick-on-Shannon on Friday, October 3.

The event, Powering Up Scaling for Impact, hosted by Norah Casey at Carrick Business Campus, featured a series of talks from business leaders on helping companies scale across the west of Ireland and beyond.

Opening the event, Minister Burke said that Budget 2026 will be an “enterprise budget,” aimed at accelerating growth opportunities for Irish businesses. 

He spoke of several strategies under development, including a new accelerator policy in partnership with Enterprise Ireland, which he said will identify funding gaps and deliver targeted support to early-stage companies. 

“We’ll be opening up a consultation with Enterprise Ireland in the coming months. Hopefully we’ll have a lot of exciting news for the north west,” he said.

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The Minister pointed to the scale of Enterprise Ireland’s current impact, highlighting that its client companies support 234,000 jobs and Ireland has recorded a record €36 billion in exports. 

Looking ahead, he said the Government wants to grow exports to €50 billion, increase employment supported by Enterprise Ireland by an additional 75,000 jobs and back 1,200 significant start-ups over the next five years.

Burke also spoke about the importance of family businesses, which he said employ two-thirds of people across Irish communities, and pledged continued support for them. 

On the broader economy, he cited the Government’s Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity, which includes €34 billion in additional capital spending. 

He said Ireland’s position in eurozone competitiveness rankings had slipped from fourth to seventh, and stressed the need to focus on housing, water, wastewater and energy to support future growth.

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On the hospitality sector, which employs 240,000 people nationwide, Burke described it as central to Ireland’s tourism offering. “They enhance that authentic offering that Ireland has; why people come here. We don't want to lose our small, independent coffee shops and restaurants to chains and bigger operations. We need to continue to have that offering that’s so authentic,” he said.

Ireland currently has a record 2.8 million people in employment, but the Minister warned against complacency. “2.8 million people are employed which is a record, we can never take that for granted and continue growth in that field.”

Budget 2026 will be announced on Tuesday, October 7. With many businesses still under severe pressure, attention will now turn to whether the Government’s plans can deliver meaningful change in the year ahead.