Minister Humphreys Launches Public Consultation for a new National Social Enterprise Policy for Ireland
The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, has launched a public consultation for the Government’s second National Social Enterprise Policy for Ireland.
The main purpose of the consultation is to seek the views of all interested parties on the content of the next National Social Enterprise Policy for Ireland.
The public consultation is the final stage in a broad-ranging process of stakeholder engagement, which began last year, to support the development of the policy. The policy will underpin ongoing government action and investment to support social enterprise over its lifetime, up to 2027.
All interested parties are encouraged to make a submission through the consultation, which may be found here .
Launching the consultation Minister Humphreys said:
“I am delighted to launch this public consultation for the second National Social Enterprise Policy for Ireland. Social enterprises have an incredible potential, and play an important role in the social and economic life of this country. It is an important opportunity to further ensure that the voices of all are listened to and heard during the development of the new Policy.
“Our vibrant community of over 4000 social enterprises is having a huge impact, generating income of €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. Our new policy will play a central role in developing their huge potential in the years to come.”
“The public consultation opens on 7 December and will run until 31 January 2024. I am encouraging all social enterprises and interested parties to feed into the consultation process.”
Public Consultation
The public consultation can be found here and is open from 7 December 2023 to 31 January 2024. The consultation paper is structured around five thematic objectives which have been selected for the policy, informed by experience gained in the period since the first policy was introduced, feedback received from stakeholder engagement and consultation, the evidence base provided by a 2023 Baseline Data Collection Exercise on Social Enterprise ,and recent recommendations of an OECD review commissioned by DRCD and a NESC review of social enterprise in Ireland .
These are:
- Building Awareness of Social Enterprises
- Growing Social Enterprise
- Climate Action Contribution
- National and International Engagement
- Data Collection and Social Impact Measurement.
The Wheel Member Consultation on the National Social Enterprise Policy (Online Meeting) - 11 January 2024
We invite you to our special member consultation, which will take place online on Thursday, 11 January from 10.30am -12pm.
Organised by The Wheel’s Social Enterprise Member Network, we want to hear from members about what you think should be present in the next National Social Enterprise Policy for Ireland, and what form The Wheel's input should take.
This is an opportunity to shape social enterprise policy for you and the people who rely on your goods and services, to connect with other members and to share your expertise and experience of working in this space.
Learn more about this event and book a place via the button below: