Press release
DRCD and OECD Launch Report on Social Enterprise at the Fifth National Social Enterprise Conference
From Department of Rural and Community Development
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Rural and Community Development
Published on
Last updated on
The report ‘Boosting Social Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise Development in Ireland’ provides an international perspective on the sector in Ireland.
Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys today (Thursday 16 November) opened Ireland’s Fifth National Social Enterprise Conference, to a gathering of more than 400 delegates from across the social enterprise sector. The conference took place in the Shearwater Hotel, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway.
The theme of the conference was ‘Social Enterprise in Ireland – An International Perspective’. The aims of the annual conference are to provide networking opportunities, disseminate information, share best practice and inform policy implementation and future policy development.
At the conference, Minister Humphreys and Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD, Yoshiki Takeuchi jointly launched a landmark report on social enterprise policy implementation ‘Boosting Social Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise Development in Ireland’.
Opening the Conference, Minister Humphreys said:
“The social enterprise sector is growing, along with the wider social economy. It is playing an increasingly important role in delivering positive responses to our social and societal issues.”
Speaking on the Launch of the OECD report, Minister Humphreys said:
“This report confirms that Ireland is home to a vibrant social enterprise community, active in areas such as healthcare and education as well as local development and the cultural and creative sectors.
“It provides an in-depth analysis of social enterprise in Ireland and marks another milestone in my department’s strong relationship with the OECD. The OECD’s work will inform the development of our new social enterprise policy which I would intend to publish early next year.”
Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD, Yoshiki Takeuchi said:
“Here in Ireland there is already a vibrant community of over 4000 social enterprises. It is having a huge impact, generating income of EUR 2.34 billion and providing jobs for 3.7% of the Irish workforce, more than two thirds of which are women.
“This is an extraordinary platform to build on. I am confident the OECD review we are launching today will help Ireland develop an ambitious new National Policy for Social Enterprises.”
The Conference brings together a wide range of national and international speakers representing the wide spectrum of social enterprise activity in Ireland. Minister Humphreys delivered the welcome address. Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD, Yoshiki Takeuchi provided opening remarks on the launch of the report ‘Boosting Social Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise Development in Ireland’.
Download the report: [external-link https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/industry-and-services/boosting-social-entrepreneurship-and-social-enterprise-development-in-ireland_3115bcb6-en | Boosting Social Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise Development in Ireland: In-depth policy review | OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Papers | OECD iLibrary (oecd-ilibrary.org) ]
Details of the agenda and speakers can be found on the Social Enterprise website.
Social enterprises are businesses whose core objective is to achieve a social, societal, or environmental impact. Like other businesses, social enterprises pursue their objectives by trading in goods and services on an ongoing basis. However, surpluses generated by social enterprises are re-invested into achieving the core social objectives.
They frequently work to support disadvantaged groups such as the long-term unemployed, people with disabilities, travellers, or to address issues such as food poverty, social housing, or environmental matters.
Ireland’s first National Social Enterprise Policy for Ireland 2019-2022 was launched by the Department of Rural and Community Development on 18 July 2019, with the objective of creating an enabling environment for social enterprise to grow and contribute more fully to Ireland’s social and economic progress.
The Policy is focused on three main objectives:
1. Building Awareness of Social Enterprise
2. Growing and Strengthening Social Enterprise
3. Achieving Better Policy Alignment
Work is ongoing on the development of a successor social enterprise policy. As with the first policy, DRCD has adopted a partnership approach to its development. Six regional stakeholder consultations have taken place in Donegal, Waterford, Dublin, Limerick, Cork and Galway. A series of bi-lateral meetings with relevant government departments and key stakeholders have also taken place.
The new policy is expected to be more ambitious in scope than the first, and will focus on new areas of importance such as climate action and the circular economy. Drafting is at an advanced stage and it is expected a public consultation will take place in the coming weeks. It is anticipated the new policy will be published early in the New Year.
The holding of an annual Social Enterprise Conference is one of the commitments made in the First National Social Enterprise Policy for Ireland to allow stakeholders to share best practice, inform policy implementation and future social enterprise policy development. https://www.socialenterprise.ie/conference
The OECD is a multi-disciplinary inter-governmental organisation with member countries which engages in its work an increasing number of non-members from all regions of the world. The Organisation’s core mission today is to help governments work together towards a stronger, cleaner, fairer global economy. Through its network of specialised committees and working groups, the OECD provides a setting where governments compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice, and co-ordinate domestic and international policies. More information available: www.oecd.org
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