Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe : country report : Ireland.
Date: 2020-03-31
Institutions: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
Subjects: European undertaking, Ireland, entrepreneurship, financial aid, investment, market access, public-private partnership, social economy, social impact, social policy, voluntary organisation, voluntary work

SOCIAL ENTERPRISES 
AND THEIR ECOSYSTEMS 
IN EUROPE

Country report
IRELAND
Mary O’Shaughnessy 

Social Europe

This  report  is  part  of  the  study  "Social  enterprises  and  their  ecosystems  in  Europe" 
and  it  provides  an  overview  of  the  social  enterprise  landscape  in  Ireland  based  on 
available information as of November 2019. It describes the roots and drivers of social 
enterprises  in  the  country  as  well  as  their  conceptual,  fiscal  and  legal  framework.  It 
includes an estimate of the number of organisations and outlines the ecosystem as 
well as some perspectives for the future of social enterprises in the country.

This  publication  is  an  outcome  of  an  assignment  financed  entirely  by  the  European 
Union  Programme  for  Employment  and  Social  Innovation  "EaSI"  (2014-2020).  For 
further information please consult: http://ec.europa.eu/social/easi

Manuscript completed in February 2020

1st edition

Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission 
is responsible for the use that might be made of the following information.

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2020

© European Union, 2020

Reuse is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

The  reuse  policy  of  European  Commission  documents  is  regulated  by  Decision 
2011/833/EU (OJ L 330, 14.12.2011, p. 39).

For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not under the EU copyright, 
permission must be sought directly from the copyright holders.

Catalogue number KE-02-20-041-EN-N
ISBN 978-92-76-10216-8 | DOI 10.2767/348567

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SOCIAL ENTERPRISES 
AND THEIR ECOSYSTEMS 
IN EUROPE

Country report
IRELAND

Mary O’Shaughnessy 

This report is a second update of the original country report, submitted by ICF Consulting 
Services to the European Commission in 2014. The current version is based on available 
information as of November 2019.

Both  updates  were  completed  by  Mary  O’Shaughnessy  (University  College  Cork). 
The  author  acknowledges  the  valuable  input  from  various  stakeholders  as  well  as 
from EU level project coordinators (Carlo Borzaga, Giulia Galera, Rocío Nogales and 
Barbara Franchini) and the members of the advisory boards for the 2016 and 2019 
update rounds.

Recommended citation:
European Commission (2020) Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe. Updated 
country report: Ireland. Author: Mary O’Shaughnessy. Luxembourg: Publications Office of 
the European Union. Available at https://europa.eu/!Qq64ny

Countries included in the three social enterprise mappings by the European Commission

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Montenegro

The Netherlands

North Macedonia

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Serbia

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

United Kingdom

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6 | Table of contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of acronyms 

List of illustrations, figures and tables 

Executive summary 

8

9

10

1.  BACKGROUND: SOCIAL ENTERPRISE ROOTS AND DRIVERS  15

2.  CONCEPT, LEGAL EVOLUTION AND FISCAL FRAMEWORK  21

2.1.  Defining social enterprise borders 

2.1.1. The EU operational definition of social enterprise 

2.1.2. Application of the EU operational definition of social enterprise in Ireland 

2.2.  Legal evolution 

2.3.  Fiscal framework 

3.  MAPPING 

3.1.  Measuring social enterprises 

3.2.  Social enterprise characteristics 

3.2.1. Sectors of activity 

3.2.2. Sources of income 

3.2.3. Use of paid workers and volunteers 

3.3.  Summary of mapping results 

22

22

22

26

27

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37

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDTable of contents | 7

4.  ECOSYSTEM 

4.1.  Key actors 

4.2.  Policy schemes and support measures 

4.2.1. Support measures addressed to all enterprises that fulfil specific criteria 

4.2.2. Support measures addressed to social economy/non-profit organisations 

4.2.3. Support measures specifically addressed to social enterprises 

4.3.  Public procurement framework 

4.4.  Networks and mutual support mechanisms 

4.4.1. Representative bodies - advocacy 

4.4.2. National and local consortia 

4.4.3. Networks running entrepreneurial activities and social

enterprises incubators 

4.5.  Research, education and skills development 

4.6.  Financing 

4.6.1. Demand for finance 

4.6.2. Supply of finance 

4.6.3. Market gaps/deficiencies 

5.  PERSPECTIVES 

5.1.  Overview of the social enterprise debate at the national level 

5.2.  Constraining factors and opportunities 

5.3.  Trends and future challenges 

6.  APPENDICES 

Appendix 1. The EU operational definition of social enterprise 

Appendix 2. Reference list 

41

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Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND 
8 | List of acronyms

List of acronyms

 > BDL 

 > CSP 

 > GLG 

Ballyhoura Development Ltd.

Community Services Programme

Company Limited by Guarantee

 > CLS  

Company Limited by Share

 > CHY 

 > CRA 

 > CFI 

Charity Number

Charities Regulatory Authority

Community Finance (Ireland)

 > COSME  Competitiveness  of  Enterprises  and  Small  and  Medium-Sized 

 Enterprises

 > EAFRD 

European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development EAFRD

 > Forfás 

(The  national  policy  advisory  board  for  enterprise,  trade,  science, 
technology and innovation in Ireland)

 > FDCL 

Frenchpark and Districts Childcare Ltd

 > FETAC 

Further Education and Training Awards Council

 > HSE 

 > ILCU 

Health Service Executive 

Irish League of Credit Unions 

 > LRDA 

Lisdoonan Recreational Development Association Ltd.

 > LDC 

 > LEO 

Local Development Company

Local Enterprise Office

 > LEADER  Liaisons entre actions de developpement de l'économie rurale

 > MFI 

Microfinance Ireland

 > NESF 

National Economic Social Forum 

 > OGP 

Office of Government Procurement

 > PLANET  Partnership Network for Irish area-based partnerships

 > RCCNCL  Rural Community Care Network Caring Ltd 

 > RIDC 

Roscommon Integrated Development Company

 > SE 

 > SEP 

 > SEI 

Social Enterprise

Social Economy Programme

Social Entrepreneurs Ireland

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND 
 
List of illustrations, figures and tables | 9

 > SFF 

 > SME 

Social Finance Foundation

Small and Medium Enterprise

 > SETF 

Social Enterprise Task Force

 > SICAP  

Social Inclusion & Community Activation Programme

 > WISE 

Work Integration Social Enterprise)

List of illustrations, figures and tables

 > Illustration 1.  CareBright Rural Home Elder Care Social Enterprise

 > Illustration 2.  Speedpak CLG Social Enterprise

 > Illustration 3.  Frenchpark and Districts Childcare Ltd (FDCL) Social Enterprise

 > Illustration 4.  Lisdoonan Recreational Development Association Ltd. (LRDA) 

Social Enterprise

 > Figure 1. 

Continuum of Irish Social Enterprise

 > Table 1. 

 > Table 2. 

 > Table 3. 

 > Table 4. 

 > Table 5. 

 > Table 6. 

 > Table 7. 

 > Table 8. 

Irish  definition  of  social  enterprise  against  the  EU  operational 
definition

Fiscal framework for social enterprises in Ireland

Main data on social enterprises

Summary of mapping results (based on 2009 data published in 
the Forfas Review)

Irish  social  enterprises  against  the  EU  operational  definition  of 
social enterprise

Main actors in Irish ecosystem

Examples of supporting measures

Terms for social finance in Ireland

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND 
 
 
 
10 | Executive summary

Executive summary

Background

In  Ireland,  social  enterprises  are  regarded  as  a  business  model  that  tackles  social, 
economic or environmental issues. Viewed as a small but growing part of the enterprise 
base, there is widespread acknowledgment of their increasing contribution to national, 
regional and local social and economic development.

The term social enterprise first emerged in the 1990s. Discourse was influenced by a 
1995 National Economic Social Forum (NESF) study on the service sector’s job potential. 
At that time, main drivers included the Irish government and advocacy groups for the 
long-term unemployed. By 1997, PLANET—the Partnership Network for Irish area-based 
partnerships with responsibility for unemployment—had published two position papers. 
The Irish government responded by establishing the Partnership 2000 Working Group on 
the Social Economy, which recommended a national social economy programme. This 
was established in 2000 and later revamped as the Community Services Programme 
(CSP) in 2006.

During  the  past  decade,  two  developments  have  particularly  propelled  social 
enterprises to greater prominence: the economic crisis and the emergence of advocacy 
organisations. The former refocused policy attention on job creation. The latter presents 
the sector’s potential for employment creation and effective service provision.

The  sector’s  perceived  significance  for  national  economic  recovery  was  reflected  in 
the  Programme  of  Government  for  2011-2016.  Moreover,  the  Government’s  Action 
Plan for Jobs 2012 advocated a report, published in 2013, that assesses the sector’s 
potential for job creation. It was followed by the appointment of a cross-departmental 
"Minister for Social Enterprise". Then an Interdepartmental Working Group was formed, 
focusing on the social enterprise agenda in the EU Ireland Partnership Agreement and 
Operational Programmes for 2014-2020.

Nevertheless, further developments continue to drive the social enterprise agenda. Of 
greatest significance is the 2019 publication of Ireland’s first National Social Enterprise 
Policy by the Department of Community and Rural Development (DCRD). It conceives 
social enterprises as businesses whose core objective is to achieve a social, societal or 
environmental impact through the trade of goods or services on an ongoing basis with 
generated  surpluses  re-invested  in  social  impact.  The  policy  is  aimed  at  supporting 
social enterprises and is focused on three objectives: (i) building awareness of social 
enterprise;  (ii)  growing  and  strengthening  social  enterprise;  and  (iii)  achieving  better 
policy alignment.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDExecutive summary | 11

Concept, legal evolution and fiscal framework

The 2019 National Social Enterprise Policy’s definition of social enterprise is consistent 
with  the  EU  operational  definition’s  core  criteria.  However,  in  terms  of  the  sector’s 
legal framework, Irish law does not provide a legal form tailored specifically for social 
enterprises. Although a social enterprise in Ireland may take any one of a variety of 
forms, the overwhelming majority are structured as companies limited by guarantee, 
often combined with charitable status. There are no legislative, regulatory or other rules 
that specifically hinder their development.

The legislation governing companies limited by guarantee (CLGs) was changed in 2015; 
effectively the Companies Acts 1963 to 2013 were consolidated into the Companies Act 
2014 and introduced on 1st June 2015. This change places different requirements on 
CLGs (including social enterprises) to include a Directors’ Compliance Statement in the 
Report of the Directors in the CLG’s financial statements. It also allows for a reduction 
in the numbers of members within the CLG from a minimum of seven numbers to one 
member with no upper limit.

The  sector  benefits  from  a  range  of  fiscal  and  taxation  arrangements,  including  tax 
relief, which applies to all enterprises, including those forms that can be adopted by 
social enterprises such as Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG) and Company Limited 
by  Share  (CLS),  and  social  enterprises  holding  approved  charitable  status.  Several 
initiatives  are  specifically  available  to  social  enterprises,  including:  the  Seed  Capital 
Scheme,  the  Employment  Investment  Incentive  (EII)  and  the  Startup  Refunds  for 
Entrepreneurs (SURE).

Mapping

The main sources of data on Irish social enterprises are government sponsored and/
or commissioned small-scale surveys. Data on the sector is also collated by national 
social enterprise networks. This section draws on existing published studies to provide 
an indicative overview of the scale and characteristics of social enterprise in Ireland. 
Data  are  provided  with  the  caveat  that  several  reports  have  pointed  to  limited 
empirical evidence and information about the scope, prevalence and contribution of 
Irish social enterprises.

The main sources of research/data come from Clarke and Eustace (2009) and the Forfás 
review (2013). Collectively, they describe the role and activities of social enterprises, 
key enabling factors and constraints influencing their development, turnover and use of 
paid workers and volunteers.

A  key  theme  which  emerged  from  the  research  that  underpins  the  2019  National 
Social Enterprise Policy highlight the need to gather more comprehensive and reliable 
data in future.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND12 | Executive summary

Ecosystem

The ecosystem for social enterprises in Ireland is shaped by a variety of key actors, 
including:  national,  regional  and  local  policymakers;  researchers  and  educational 
institutions; social enterprise networks; and financial intermediaries.

The EC Financial Framework 2014-2020 provides a range of funds that are potentially 
relevant for all Irish enterprises (including social enterprises): the Rural Development 
Programme  (RDP)  -  LEADER,  COSME  (Competitiveness  of  Enterprises  and  Small  and 
Medium-sized  Enterprises)  and  Local  Enterprise  Offices  (LEOs).  Measures  that  are 
specific to social economy/non-profit organisations include: the Community Foundation 
for Ireland (CFI), the Social Inclusion & Community Activation Programme (SICAP), the 
Social Economy Programme (SEP) and the Community Services Programme (CSP). In 
addition, those that specifically support social enterprises include: the Social Enterprise 
Grant  Scheme,  the  Wage  Subsidy  Scheme,  the  EU  Programme  for  Employment  and 
Social Innovation (EASI) and microfinance.

New opportunities for social enterprises have become available since the transposition 
of two EU Directives on public procurement as law on 5th May 2016. The two regulations 
authorised by the Minister of Public Expenditure and Reform cover public procurement 
in the public service and utilities sector.

National, regional and local social enterprise/social entrepreneur networks and advocacy 
organisations have grown. This report examples: the Irish Social Enterprise Network as 
an advocacy body; the Social Enterprise Task Force (SEFT) and Irish Local Development 
Network (ILDN) as national and local consortia; and Social Entrepreneurs Ireland as a 
network running entrepreneurial activities.

Widespread agreement suggests that the Irish social enterprise sector’s capacity could 
increase. Research, education and skills development initiatives aimed at addressing 
this  issue  include:  university-based  programmes;  and  local  development  companies 
that enhance sectorial skills. More specifically, in September 2019 the DCRD announced 
800,000 EUR in funding for social enterprise training and mentoring.

A recent study of the social enterprise sector in Ireland highlights difficulties experienced 
by the sector in accessing and securing finance from mainstream and public funding 
institutions. Consequently, many have become reliant on a range of funding sources 
including  individual  contributions,  foundation  grants,  user  fees,  fundraising  and 
government payments. Representatives from within the social investment sector report 
that retail banks provide significant amounts of finance to community organisations 
but may not be aware that they are serving the sector.

Available funding/financing sources include: the Social Finance Foundation; bank finance 
through Triodos Bank serving Ireland; funding for social entrepreneurs through the Arthur 

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDExecutive summary | 13

Guinness Fund; the Ulster Bank Business Achievers Awards; Enterprise Ireland; and a 
Social Enterprise Grant Scheme for start-up or early development social enterprises. 

In  2013,  the  government  introduced  the  first  Social  Impact  Investment  project.  The 
lending  organisation  Clann  Credo  was  appointed  to  manage  the  initiative,  more 
commonly known as Social Impact Investing (SII).

Perspectives

Until very recently, there was no clear understanding and definition of social enterprise 
in  Ireland.  While  government  initiatives  broadly  supported  the  social  economy,  a 
dedicated, comprehensive social enterprise support programme was lacking. The 2019 
National  Policy  has  been  welcomed  by  the  sector.  Social  enterprises  are  particularly 
heartened  by  the  allocation  of  dedicated  government  funding/training/mentoring  for 
their growth and sustainability.

Five  main  barriers  affect  consulted  stakeholders.  Firstly,  they  believe  that  social 
enterprises  lack  the  internal  capacity  to  support  growth.  Secondly,  stakeholders 
consulted in 2016 were critical of bureaucratic funding streams and the lack of clarity 
between service level agreements and government grants. Thirdly, social enterprises 
often  struggle  to  secure  finance  from  mainstream  sources  such  as  banks.  Fourthly, 
although  no  legislative,  regulatory  or  other  rules  specifically  hinder  social  enterprise 
development, Irish law and regulation does not consider the characteristics of social 
enterprise and thus operates as an indirect practical barrier. Lastly, the delivery of public 
services is a key and potential market for social enterprises and yet both research and 
advocacy papers have stressed barriers to public procurement opportunities.

On a more positive note, the National Procurement Service is progressing a number 
of initiatives to improve social enterprise access to public procurement. In the 2019 
National Policy, it was noted that a key part of the Irish Government’s agenda recognises 
that social enterprises may often be best placed to deliver certain types of contracts 
such as services to disadvantaged persons.

The most significant challenges for the Irish social enterprise sector’s future growth 
include: social enterprise awareness; overall capacity building; the ability to tender 
for  public  procurement;  a  more  supportive  financial  infrastructure;  appropriate 
systems  of  social  impact  and  performance  measurement;  and  greater  leadership 
and governance capacity.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDIRELAND

1

BACKGROUND: 
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE 
ROOTS AND DRIVERS

Rooted in a rich social economy tradition, the term social enterprise first came 
to prominence in Irish policy discourse in the 1990s. It was typically viewed as 
a response to community service provision and work integration. In this country 
report, social enterprises are explained as businesses whose core objective is 
to  achieve  a  social,  societal  or  environmental  impact  through  the  trade  of 
goods or services on an ongoing basis with generated surpluses re-invested in 
social impact.

16 | Background: social enterprise roots and drivers

In  Ireland,  social  enterprises  are  regarded  as  a  business  model  that  tackles  social, 
economic or environmental issues. Viewed as a small but growing part of the enterprise 
base, there is increasing widespread acknowledgment of their contribution to national, 
regional and local social and economic development.

The  term  social  enterprise  first  emerged  in  Irish  policy  discourse  in  the  1990s. 
Reflecting a European policy trend, the evolving discourse was influenced by a National 
Economic Social Forum (NESF) study of the job potential of the service sector. This 
study  identified  social  enterprises  as  having  the  potential  to  provide  goods  and 
services to disadvantaged communities, in the instance of market and public failure, 
and  in  the  process  to  facilitate  local  labour  market  integration  (NESF,  1995).  This 
acceptance of the role of social enterprises in service provision and labour market 
integration has long prevailed.

By  the  mid-1990s  the  main  drivers  of  the  social  enterprise  agenda  included  the 
Irish  government  and  advocacy  groups  for  the  long-term  unemployed.  By  1997, 
PLANET—the Partnership Network for Irish area-based partnerships with responsibility 
for  tackling  unemployment—had  published  two  position  papers  on  how  the  sector 
could  be  developed  and  supported  to  provide  community-based  services  and 
tackle  unemployment  and  social  exclusion  (PLANET,  1997,  2005;  WRC,  1999).  The 
Irish  government  responded  by  establishing  the  Partnership  2000  Working  Group 
on  the  Social  Economy.  This  Working  Group  reinforced  the  association  between 
social  enterprise,  labour  market  integration  and  service  delivery  to  disadvantaged 
communities and identified three types of social enterprise as targets for government 
support. The group also recommended the establishment of a national social economy 
programme, which was established in 2000 and later revamped as the Community 
Services Programme (CSP) in 2006. As a result of the specific nature of this statutory 
support, many of the emerging social enterprises since the 1990s can be described 
as  work  integration  social  enterprises  (WISEs)  with  the  dual  objective  of  delivering 
services to disadvantaged communities and providing work integration opportunities 
to groups at risk of social and economic exclusion.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDBackground: social enterprise roots and drivers | 17

Illustration 1. CareBright Rural Home Elder Care 

Social Enterprise

CareBright  was  formerly  known  as  Rural  Community  Care  Network  (RCCN)  and  was 
initiated  to  respond  to  a  service  gap  and  provide  employment  in  1999  by  local 
development  company  Ballyhoura  Development  Ltd  (BDL),  which  operates  the  RDP. 
It  provides  home-based  elder  care  services  in  counties  Cork,  Tipperary  and  Limerick. 
CareBright  is  a  company  limited  by  guarantee  which  has  a  voluntary  board  of  ten 
directors, holds charitable status and derives income from a combination of sources 
including  the  Health  Service  Executive  (HSE)  contracts,  national  lottery,  philanthropy 
and client contributions for homecare provision.

Initially,  CareBright  (RCCNCL  until  2012)  provided  a  home  visitation  service  and 
concentrated  on  providing  Red  Cross  accredited  training  to  the  unemployed  by 
participating in specific active labour training programmes. In 2002, RCCN became part 
of the national Social Economy Programme1 and established a new company called 
RCCN Caring Ltd (RCCNCL). Four nurse-managers were appointed to deliver homecare 
services. The CEO of BDL, who was also the chairperson of RCCNCL, together with the 
full  time  voluntary  work  of  a  member  of  the  board,  initially  managed  these  nurse-
managers and coordinated the work. In 2005, RCCNCL became involved in a HSE pilot 
scheme to deliver home care to older people in their homes.2 From 2006, it expanded 
its profile of services to a fully professional home and personal support/care service. 
In 2011, it had a turnover of 4 million EUR, provided an estimated 213,000 home care 
hours  to  500  clients  and  had  substantial  reserves.  It  had  a  combined  workforce  of 
approximately 260 workers including a general manager, six senior nurse-managers, 
chiropodists and approximately 250 carers.3 BDL continues to provide its board with 
mentoring and business support. The general manager and two board members have 
participated in an RDP supported Governance for Social Enterprises Programme.

RCCNCL was faced with two significant challenges in 2011: a loss of revenue associated 
with  the  fact  that  they  were  no  longer  eligible  for  support  under  the  Community 
Services Programme,4 and an unsuccessful tender to the HSE for the provision of the 
home care package. The introduction of new public tendering processes was not easy 
for the organisation and the loss of income associated with the unsuccessful tender 
(though contracts for existing clients continued) caused significant difficulties, including 

(1) The national Social Economy Programme was launched in 1999.
(2) The  Home  Care  Package  -  an  administrative  scheme  operated  by  the  HSE  which  supports  the

provision of home based care service to enable older persons to live at home independently.

(3) Includes part-time and full-time workers.
(4) The Community Services Programme(CSP) supports community businesses to deliver local services 
to their communities and to create employment opportunities for people from disadvantaged groups. 
The programme is funded by the Department of Social Protection.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND18 | Background: social enterprise roots and drivers

potential job losses. While these challenges serve to illustrate the danger of being over-
reliant on statutory programmes and contracts, RCNNCL, by virtue of having reserves 
in place, was able to respond by taking time to review the organisation, including its 
business model, governance structure, human resources and service delivery. This led, 
in 2012, to the adoption of a more commercial focus when RCCNCL was rebranded 
as  CareBright  and  board  membership  was  refreshed  to  include  new  members  with 
commercial  business  skills.  It  has  since  been  awarded  the  Q  Mark  and  purchased  a 
site in August 2013 for the purpose of developing a centre of excellence for care and 
education in home care. It has developed a new website and is exploring the possibility 
of a strategic alliance with another similar non-profit organisation for the purpose of 
developing economies of scale to enable it and similar social enterprises to compete 
more effectively with others in the sector. A key factor in the success of CareBright in 
building  to  its  current  capacity  and  strength  is  its  ability  to  manage  change.  Over  a 
period of almost 15 years, it has demonstrated a capacity to adjust its services so as 
to be relevant and responsive to statutory and market opportunities. This is related to 
strong leadership capacity and on going support from BDL, as well as the availability of 
social entrepreneurial skills and strategic planning capacity at board level.

http://www.carebright.ie

The  EU  LEADER  (rural  development)  programme  has  also  served  to  drive  the 
development of Irish social enterprises. Studies of rural based social enterprises have 
confirmed  the  significance  of  Irish  local  development  companies  (LDCs)—non-profit, 
community  based  structures—in  stimulating,  supporting  and  promoting  rural-based 
social enterprises, providing a range of hard and soft supports including: capital financial 
assistance; business mentoring; leadership and governance training; marketing support; 
and the facilitating of networking events.

During the past decade, two developments in particular have propelled social enterprises 
to greater prominence in public discourse: the economic crisis associated with the Irish 
economy; and the emergence of advocacy organisations associated for the sector. The 
economic crisis refocused policy attention on job creation, while the growth in advocacy 
for social enterprise has projected the sector as relatively underdeveloped but with the 
potential to contribute to significant employment creation and more effective service 
provision. The delivery of public services has been acknowledged as a key potential 
market for Irish social enterprises.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDBackground: social enterprise roots and drivers | 19

Illustration 2. Speedpak CLG Social Enterprise

Speedpak Group is an award-winning, Dublin-based social enterprise. Founded in the 
1990s by the Northside Partnership in collaboration with the local business community, 
its purpose was to address the issue of high unemployment in one of Dublin’s most 
disadvantaged  areas.  The  company  currently  operates  two  commercial  businesses, 
Speedpak CLG and Shamrock Rosettes, to support long-term unemployed people get 
back to work by providing real work experience, accredited industry training, mentoring 
and tailored supports. The company also has a Learning Centre facility onsite. 

Speedpak CLG operates on the philosophy that the combination of trading and training 
transforms lives. Trainees secure greater financial independence through employment 
and job resilience through education and training. Through its industry network, Speedpak 
CLG can match previously unemployed talent with available jobs. To date, the company 
has employed and trained over 1,150 people on Dublin’s Northside, bringing a significant 
social impact to individuals and families in these communities. Most recently Speedpak 
Group,  with  philanthropic  support,  has  partnered  with  industry  and  its  local  college, 
Coláiste Dhulaigh College of Further Education, to deliver a new national traineeship in 
manufacturing, supply chain and customer service logistics. Speedpak CLG provides a 
range of business order fulfilment and dispatch services (DCRD, 2019).

www.speedpakgroup.com

By  2009,  in  addition  to  continued  state  support  for  the  development  of  social 
enterprise,  a  number  of  advocacy  organisations  for  the  sector  had  emerged  with 
political  and  philanthropic  support,  including  the  Social  Enterprise  Task  Force  (SETF), 
Social Entrepreneurs Ireland and the Irish Social Enterprise Network. These networks, 
in particular the SETF, liaise with the Irish government to highlight the potential role of 
social enterprise in national economic development.

The perceived significance of the sector for national economic recovery was reflected 
in the Programme of Government for 2011-2016, which stated, "The Government will 
promote the development of a vibrant and effective social enterprise sector and instruct 
agencies  to  view  social  enterprises  as  important  stakeholders  in  rejuvenating  local 
economies". Moreover, the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs 2012 gave a commitment 
to commission a report on the potential of social enterprise to create jobs. This report 
was published in 2013, followed by the appointment of a cross-departmental "Minister 
for Social Enterprise" whose purpose was to drive forward the social enterprise agenda. 
This  meant  that  for  the  first  time  there  was  ministerial-level  leadership  to  promote 
and support the interests of social enterprises. This was followed by the creation of an 
Interdepartmental Working Group with a focus on including the social enterprise agenda 

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND20 | Background: social enterprise roots and drivers

in  the  EU  Ireland  Partnership  Agreement  and  Operational  Programmes  for  2014-
2020  (Hynes,  2016).  However,  following  a  general  election  in  early  2016,  Ireland’s 
first minority government since 1989 was established in April 2016, and criticism was 
directed at the decision not to renew this post.

Despite  this,  however,  further  developments  continued  to  drive  the  social  enterprise 
agenda including: the THINKTECH initiative, a 1 million EUR project created by Social 
Innovation  Fund  Ireland  with  support  from  Google.org  and  the  Irish  Government, 
launched  in  2016  specifically  targeting  social  enterprises  with  innovative  business 
ideas  that  use  technology  to  create  a  positive  social  impact;  confirmation  that  Irish 
LDCs are charged with developing social enterprise in local communities (the sector in 
which the great majority of Irish social enterprises are typically embedded); and two 
new EU Directives—new rules covering public procurement in the public service and in 
the utilities—which were transposed into Irish law on 5 May 2016.

Of  greatest  significance  is  the  2019  publication  of  Ireland’s  first  National  Social 
Enterprise  Policy  by  the  Department  of  Community  and  Rural  Development  (DCRD), 
which is described in detail in Section 2. It conceives social enterprises as businesses 
whose core objective is to achieve a social, societal or environmental impact through 
the trade of goods or services on an ongoing basis with surpluses generated re-invested 
into achieving a social impact. The policy is aimed at supporting social enterprises and 
is focused on three objectives: (i) building awareness of social enterprise, (ii) growing 
and strengthening social enterprise and (iii) achieving better policy alignment.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND2

CONCEPT, LEGAL 
EVOLUTION AND 
FISCAL FRAMEWORK

The 2019 National Social Enterprise Policy’s definition of social enterprise is 
consistent with the EU operational definition’s core criteria. However, in terms 
of  the  sector’s  legal  framework,  Irish  law  does  not  provide  a  form  tailored 
specifically for social enterprises. The legislation governing companies limited 
by  guarantee  (CLGs)  was  changed  in  2015;  effectively  the  Companies  Acts 
1963 to 2013 were consolidated into the Companies Act 2014 and introduced 
on  1st  June  2015.  The  sector  benefits  from  a  range  of  fiscal  and  taxation 
arrangements, including tax relief, which applies to all enterprises, including 
those forms that can be adopted by social enterprises.

22 | Concept, legal evolution and fiscal framework

2.1. Defining social enterprise borders

2.1.1. The EU operational definition of social enterprise

This  report  draws  on  the  organisational  definition  included  in  the  Social  Business 
Initiative (SBI) of 2011. According to the SBI, a social enterprise is an undertaking:

 > whose primary objective is to achieve social impact rather than generating profit 

for owners and shareholders;

 > which uses its surpluses mainly to achieve these social goals;
 > which is managed in an accountable, transparent and innovative way, in particular 
by involving workers, customers and stakeholders affected by its business activity.

This definition arranges social enterprise key features along three dimensions:

 > an entrepreneurial dimension,

 > a social dimension,

 > a dimension relative to governance structure.

Provided that the pursuit of explicit social aims is prioritised through economic activities, 
these three dimensions can combine in different ways; it is their balanced combination 
that matters most when identifying the boundaries of social enterprise.

Building  upon  this  definition,  the  Commission  identified  a  set  of  operational  criteria 
during the previous stages of the Mapping Study (European Commission 2015, 2016) 
and refined them again for the purpose of the current phase of the study (see appendix 
1 for further details).

2.1.2. Application of the EU operational definition of social enterprise in 

Ireland

In July 2019, the Department of Community and Rural Development (DCRD) published 
the  National  Social  Enterprise  Policy  for  Ireland,5  which  is  Ireland’s  first  government 
policy for social enterprise. Speaking at the launch of the policy, Minister Ring suggested 
that "social enterprises have provided a flexible and effective model which has delivered 
a positive response to social and societal issues. Social enterprises deliver a range of 
services across a wide spectrum of activities through their business model. They are 
innovative and entrepreneurial and frequently find new ways to address social, societal 
or  environmental  challenges  in  areas  such  as  employment  activation,  affordable 
childcare, and the green economy. In doing so, social enterprises contribute significantly 
to the delivery of many Government policy objectives" (DCRD, 2019).

(5)  See: https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/e779c3-social-enterprise-policy/.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDConcept, legal evolution and fiscal framework | 23

Illustration 3. Frenchpark and Districts Childcare Ltd 

(FDCL) Social Enterprise

Frenchpark Community Playgroup, located in North Roscommon, was initially formed 
in 1995 by four local professional women, with a diversity of skills (including legal and 
accountancy) to provide an accessible and affordable local childcare service. The group 
subsequently registered as a not-for-profit company, limited by guarantee, achieved 
charitable  status,  and  are  formally  known  as  Frenchpark  and  Districts  Childcare  Ltd. 
FDCL derives a traded income from fees for childcare provision, training courses and 
music lessons provided in the centre and this accounted for approximately 19% of the 
total income in 2012. This social enterprise, which employs 49 workers,6 is also funded 
through  the  Community  Employment  (CE)  programme,  CSP,  the  National  Childcare 
Investment programme (NCIP), and local fundraising.

FDCL initially offered a mobile playgroup service. In 1996, the group, with the advice 
of the then regional statutory health board, invested 35,000 EUR in the refurbishment 
of  a  local  church  hall  and  moved  to  a  fixed  premises.  The  voluntary  board  of  ten, 
which includes service users, secured additional funding under the Equal Opportunities 
Childcare Programme (2000-2006). This allowed FDCL to progress from a part-time 
service catering for 20 children in a local church hall in 1999, to offering a crèche, full 
day-care  and  after  school  service,  catering  for  approximately  140  children  from  the 
ages of 3 months to 12 years in 2012. It operates from a new purpose built childcare 
facility  on  a  local  community  owned  site  which  was  provided  by  the  local  authority. 
Additional marketing and business development support was sourced from the local 
development company, Roscommon Integrated Development Company (RIDC).

This social enterprise prides itself on being able to provide a high quality and affordable 
local  childcare  service  and  has  been  innovative  and  forward  looking  in  developing 
best practice. In 2011, FDCL was awarded the NCNA.7 All Ireland Centre of Excellence 
and was one of the first crèche facilities in Ireland to be awarded a Green Flag that 
same year. In 2012 the centre was awarded Level 4 (Highest Level) in Siolta which 
is the national quality framework for Early Childhood Education in Ireland.The service 
is  open  five  days  a  week  from  8.30am  to  6pm  throughout  the  year  and  provides 
baby,  toddler  and  full  day  care  pre-school  services.  Children  from  the  local  national 
schools also avail of an after school service and homework club. In addition to this, 
FDCL has also been approved to offer the Childcare Employment and Training Support 
(CET) scheme which provides childcare supports for participants in vocational training 
and educational courses. A key strength of this social enterprise is the capacity of the 
board  and  management  to  be  target-driven  and  successful  in  accessing  a  range  of 

(6)  Including participants in CE and CSP.
(7)  National Children's Nurseries Association.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND24 | Concept, legal evolution and fiscal framework

state supports. FDCL has also shown leadership and innovation in responding to the 
challenge of developing and implementing appropriate human resource policies for its 
workforce of 49 in the highly regulated childcare sector. This has included the provision 
of ongoing training in childcare, health and safety, child protection and specific curricula 
for pre-school children. In addition to this, management have implemented a formalised 
system of staff appraisal and staff training in order to maintain high quality standards.

https://fdcl.ie

The purpose of the policy is to support social enterprise to continue to contribute to 
Ireland’s social and economic progress and it has been described as marking a new 
phase  in  the  development  of  social  enterprise.  The  policy  is  focussed  on  three  key 
objectives: (i) building awareness on social enterprise; (ii) growing and strengthening 
social  enterprise  and  (iii)  achieving  better  policy  alignment.  It  does  so  by  setting 
out 26 commitments on the part of the Government across these objectives over a 
period of four years, from 2019 to 2022. These commitments are to be delivered in 
partnership with social enterprise stakeholders (DCRD, 2019). It is also intended that 
this policy will be implemented in close co-ordination with the Strategy to Support the 
Community and Voluntary Sectors and the National Volunteering Strategy in order to 
ensure coherent and aligned policy and supports are available for social enterprises 
and other organisations that are providing services to communities or tackling social 
issues (DCRD, 2019).

The publication and implementation of the National Social Enterprise Policy is expected 
to help to:

 > assist social enterprise to grow in scale and to make a positive impact on individuals 

and communities in both rural and urban areas;

 > support direct job creation in social enterprises and facilitate many more individuals 

to obtain employment through work experience and training;

 > improve awareness and understanding of social enterprises amongst the public 

generally;

 > improve access to supports that, up to now, have been difficult for social enterprises 

to access, including business-related training, advice and mentoring;

 > help to better harness the potential of social enterprises to support Government 
policy  objectives  in  areas  such  as  labour  market  activation,  healthcare,  social 
inclusion and environmental issues (DCRD, 2019).

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDConcept, legal evolution and fiscal framework | 25

Table 1 outlines the characteristics of the Irish definition of social enterprise against 
the core criteria set by the EU operational definition in order to identify commonalities 
and  differences.  The  definition  of  social  enterprise  published  in  the  2019  National 
policy on Social Enterprises is consistent with the EU definition and distinguishes social 
enterprises from other social economy entities and from conventional enterprises. In 
this publication, a social enterprise is explained as an enterprise whose objective is to 
achieve a social, societal or environmental impact, rather than maximising profit for its 
owners or shareholders. It pursues its objectives by trading on an ongoing basis through 
the  provision  of  goods  and/or  services,  and  by  reinvesting  surpluses  into  achieving 
social objectives. It is governed in a fully accountable and transparent manner and is 
independent of the public sector. If dissolved, it should transfer its assets to another 
organisation with a similar mission (DCRD, 2019: 8).

Table 1. Irish definition of social enterprise against the EU operational definition

Dimension

EU operational definition

2019 Irish definition

Economic

Social

Engagement in economic 
activity 

To trade on an ongoing basis 
through the provision of good and 
services

Explicit and primary social 
aim

To achieve a social, societal or 
environmental impact

Governance

Limits on profit distribution

Asset lock—if dissolved it 
should transfer its assets to 
another organisation with a 
similar mission

Organisational autonomy 
from the State and 
conventional enterprises

Inclusive governance—
democratic decision 
making and/or participatory 
governance

To reinvest surpluses into 
achieveing social objectives

If dissolved, it should transfer its 
asset to another organistion with 
a similar mission. SE—to confirm 
an asset lock—must apply for a 
charity (CHY number when legally 
incorporated)

It is independent from the public 
sector

It is governed in a transparent 
manner

This  would  suggest  that  the  definition  of  social  enterprise  as  outlined  in  the  2019 
National Policy fully meets the core criteria (in relation to economic activity, the social 
dimension and profit/asset distribution and governance) of the EU operational definition.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND26 | Concept, legal evolution and fiscal framework

2.2. Legal evolution

In terms of the legal framework, Irish law does not provide for a legal form tailored 
specifically for use by social enterprises. A social enterprise in Ireland may take any 
one of a variety of legal forms, although the overwhelming majority are structured as 
companies limited by guarantee (and not having share capital), often combined with the 
charitable status. There are no legislative, regulatory or other rules specifically hindering 
the development of social enterprises in Ireland. A study by Clarke and Eustace (2009) 
reported that a Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG) was the legal form of almost all 
social enterprises (91% of the total). Discussions with stakeholders confirmed this.

At  a  national  level,  advocacy  groups  have  called  for  a  specific  legal  identity  for 
social  enterprise  in  order  to  distinguish  social  enterprises  from  other  organisations, 
provide  greater  visibility  for  the  sector  and  in  turn  facilitate  greater  accuracy  in  the 
measurement  of  the  true  scale  and  the  social  and  economic  impact  of  the  sector. 
It  should  be  noted  that  the  consultations  undertaken  during  the  preparation  of  the 
2019 National Policy called for "greater clarity on the current legal structure options 
for social enterprises and social entrepreneurs, along with a call to examine options for 
bespoke legal structures in the longer term for social enterprises". The consultation also 
acknowledged the "complexity around introducing new legal forms" (DCRD, 2019: 21). 
The  Irish  Government,  in  collaboration  with  relevant  stakeholders  has  committed  to 
conducting further research and analysis on the operation of social enterprises within 
existing  legal  structures  and  assess  the  potential  value  of  a  distinct  legal  form  for 
social enterprises (DCRD, 2019).

Companies Act 1963-2013 - Companies Limited by Guarantee (CLG)

A  CLG  has  a  two-tier  structure  of  directors  and  members  like  a  company  limited 
by  shares  but,  rather  than  shareholders,  its  members  are  guarantors  who  agree  to 
contribute a specified amount, usually 1 EUR, in the event that the company is wound 
up. A company limited by guarantee does not have share capital. A CLG can be used 
as  the  legal  form  for  a  not-for-profit  organisation  because  it  does  not  have  shares 
and it usually has provisions in its Articles of Association that prohibit the payment of 
dividends to its members. However, provided the CLG does not have charitable status or 
some other restriction set out in its Articles of Association which prohibits it from doing 
so, the company can enter into contracts with its members to provide bonuses which are 
related to the company’s performance. CLGs which have a "charitable purpose" as their 
main object can apply to the Revenue Commissioners for particular tax exemptions, 
which,  if  granted,  result  in  such  charitable  bodies  being  issued  with  a  charity  (CHY) 
number.8 A CLG must have at least seven members. Ultimate control of the CLG rests 

(8)  http://www.charitiesregulatoryauthority.ie.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDConcept, legal evolution and fiscal framework | 27

with the members because of their rights to attend, speak and vote at general meetings. 
They can pass resolutions which change the Memorandum and Articles of Association 
and appoint and remove directors. There are no shares, no distribution of dividends on 
share  capital  and  no  requirement  to  allocate  surpluses  to  compulsory  legal  reserve 
funds. Members have the right to receive the annual accounts, including the directors’ 
and auditors’ reports. Further amendments to the Companies Act were introduced in 
June 2015 and it is now termed the New Companies Act 2014.

New Companies Act 2014 introduced on 1 June 2015 and the implications 

for CLGs

The legislation governing CLGs was changed in 2015; effectively the Companies Acts 
1963  to  2013  were  consolidated  into  the  Companies  Act  2014  and  introduced  on 
1  June  2015.  This  change  places  different  requirements  on  CLGs  (including  social 
enterprises) to include a Directors’ Compliance Statement in the Report of the Directors 
in the CLG’s financial statements. This obligation applies to CLGs where the balance 
sheet  is  greater  than  12.5  million  EUR  and  turnover  is  greater  than  25  million  EUR. 
The Compliance Statement is a confirmation by the Directors that they have: drawn up 
a compliance policy statement as to compliance by the company with company law 
and tax law; put in place appropriate arrangements or structures designed to secure 
material  compliance  with  that  law;  conducted  a  review  during  the  financial  year  of 
those arrangements and structures. The legislation change also allows for a reduction 
in the numbers of members within the CLG from a minimum of seven numbers to one 
member only with no upper limit and the requirement that a CLG will have to end its 
name with "Company Limited by Guarantee" or "CLG" (i.e., the name of a CLG cannot 
end in "Limited" or "LTD").

There are no marks, labelling schemes or certification systems for social enterprises 
in Ireland. There are, however, systems of reporting necessary for compliance with 
regulations  as  laid  down  by  the  Company’s  Office,  Revenue  Commissioner  and 
Charities Regulator.

2.3. Fiscal framework

There  are  a  range  of  fiscal  and  taxation  arrangements,  including  tax  relief,  that 
apply  to  all  enterprises,  including  those  legal  forms  that  can  be  adopted  by  social 
enterprise  such  as  Company  Limited  by  Guarantee  (CLG)  and  Company  Limited  by 
Share (CLS) and including social enterprises holding charitable status approved by the 
Revenue Commission. Social enterprises can register themselves as charities, making 
them  exempt  from  tax  on  their  profits,  because  they  do  not  distribute  revenue  to 

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND28 | Concept, legal evolution and fiscal framework

shareholders. It has been noted that charitable tax status can also "act as a deterrent 
to investment" as the Revenue Commissioners require that bodies with charitable tax 
status apply the income and property of the body solely towards the promotion of its 
main charitable object as set out in the charity’s governing instrument. The directors 
or trustees of a social enterprise with charitable tax status are generally not permitted 
to receive any remuneration from the social enterprise other than reimbursement of 
out-of-pocket expenses.

Seed Capital Scheme

Entrepreneurs who start up and work full-time in their own company can claim back 
income tax paid in the previous six years to invest equity into the company (subscribed 
as  shares).  The  amount  of  relief  is  restricted  to  the  amount  of  the  investment.  In 
November  2011,  the  former  qualifying  trade  limitations  were  in  the  main  removed, 
leaving the scheme open to a much wider range of sectors. Forfas (2013) also report 
that the ceiling on recoverable tax was also raised to the tax paid on 100,000 EUR in 
each of the six years. With the exception of tourism projects, there is no requirement 
for a company to have prior certification by any agency to confirm it is a qualifying new 
venture. The onus is on the promoter.

Employment Investment Incentive (EII)9

Available  to  unquoted  micro,  small  and  medium-sized  trading  companies,  the 
Employment  and  Investment  Incentive  (EII)  (which  replaced  the  Business  Expansion 
Scheme)  is  a  tax  relief  incentive  scheme.  It  provides  for  tax  relief  of  up  to  40%  in 
respect  of  investments  made  in  certain  corporate  trades.  The  scheme  allows  an 
individual  investor  to  obtain  income  tax  relief  on  investments  for  shares  in  certain 
companies up to a maximum of 150,000 EUR per annum in each tax year up to 2020. 
Initially relief is allowed on thirty fortieths [30/40] of the EII investment in the year the 
investment is made. Potentially, this can result in a tax saving for the investor of up 
to 30% of the investment. Relief in respect of the further ten fortieths [10/40] of the 
EII investment will be available in the fourth year after the EII scheme investment was 
made providing that certain conditions are met. The scheme has the potential to result 
in a further tax saving for the investor of up to 10% of the investment. The tax relief 
is provided to enable companies to raise finance for the purpose of expansion, create 
and/or retain jobs. A number of conditions must be satisfied in order to be eligible for 
this tax relief. These include the investor, the company and its trade, how the company 
uses the money invested and the shares purchased. Forfas (2013) report that Business 
Expansion  Scheme  was  considered  an  expensive  source  of  finance,  particularly  for 
small projects and, therefore, believed to be of limited use for social enterprises.

(9)  http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/it/leaflets/it55.html#section1.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDConcept, legal evolution and fiscal framework | 29

Startup Refunds for Entrepreneurs (SURE)10

The Startup Refunds for Entrepreneurs (SURE) is a tax relief incentive scheme targeted 
at those interested in starting their own company and applying to tax paid over the 6 
years prior to year in which the investment is made.

Tax Relief for Charitable Donations

Section  848A  Taxes  Consolidation  Act  1997  (TCA  1997)11  provides  for  a  scheme  of 
tax relieffor certain "eligible charities" and other "approved bodies". An "eligible charity" 
means  any  charity  that  is  authorised  in  writing  by  the  Revenue  Commissioners.  The 
charity, in order to be authorised, must: be a body of persons or trust established for 
charitable purposes only; have been granted exemption from tax for the purposes of 
Section 207 for a period of not less than two years; apply its income for charitable 
purposes only. An "approved body" includes: educational institutions or bodies including 
primary, second level or third level, if they meet certain conditions, a body approved for 
Education in the Arts by the Minister for Finance and a body for the promotion of the 
observance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the implementation of the 
European Convention for the protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, 
or both.

Tax Relief for Sporting Organisations (including social enterprises)

This exemption applies to an "approved body of persons" i.e. an organisation established 
for, and existing for, the sole purpose of promoting an athletic or amateur game or sport 
and whose income, as is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners, is 
income which has been or will be applied for the sole purpose of promoting that athletic 
or amateur game or sport. The body must be a not-for-profit, member controlled and 
owned  organisation.  It  must  be  legally  established  in  the  State  and  have  its  centre 
of management and control therein. The majority of its trustees/directors/officers, as 
appropriate, must be resident within the State (Forfas, 2013).

Tax Relief for Donations to Sports Organisations (including social 

enterprises)

Section 847A of the Tax Consolidation Act 1997 provides for a scheme of tax relief for 
relevant donations to an approved sports body for the funding of approved projects. 
Relief applies to donations of a minimum of 250 EUR in a tax year or an accounting period 
where the donor is a company. No project can be approved which is estimated to cost in 

(10)  http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/it/leaflets/it15.html.
(11)  http://www.revenue.ie/en/personal/charities.html.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND30 | Concept, legal evolution and fiscal framework

excess of 40 million EUR. This initiative benefits clubs and organisations acquiring land 
or a building, developing facilities, purchasing fixed, non-personal equipment for sports 
activities, or repaying a loan for these purposes, by providing an incentive to individuals 
or companies to make a donation towards the cost of the project. The initiative applies 
only to "a body established and existing for the sole purpose of promoting an athletic or 
amateur game or sport whose income is exempt from income/corporation tax".

Table 2. Fiscal framework for social enterprises in Ireland

Tax Relief

Section 848A Taxes 
Consolidation Act 1997 (TCA 
1997) provides for a scheme 
of tax relief for certain 
eligible charities and other 
approved bodies which can 
include SEs.

Subsidies available to 
WISEs

Tax reductions to private 
and/or institutional donors

The Wage Subsidy Scheme 
provides financial incentives 
to WISEs to employ disabled 
people who work more than 
20 hours per week.

Section 847A of the Tax 
Consolidation Act 1997 
provides for a scheme of tax 
relief for relevant donations 
to an approved sports body 
including SEs.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND3

MAPPING

The main sources of data on Irish social enterprises are government sponsored 
and/or commissioned small-scale surveys. Data on the sector is also collated 
by national social enterprise networks. A key theme which emerged from the 
research that underpins the 2019 National Social Enterprise Policy highlight 
the need to gather more comprehensive and reliable data in future.

32 | Mapping

3.1. Measuring social enterprises

The main sources of data on social enterprises in Ireland are government sponsored 
and/or commissioned small-scale surveys of social enterprises identified on the basis 
of their specific geographical locations, participation in specific social enterprise support 
schemes  and/or  benefits  received  from  social  finance  and  other  statutory  support 
mechanisms. Data on the sector is also collated by national social enterprise networks. 
This section draws on existing published studies12 to provide an indicative overview of 
the scale and characteristics of social enterprise in Ireland. It describes the role and 
activities  of  social  enterprises,  key  enabling  factors  and  constraints  influencing  their 
development.

The main sources of research/data on social enterprises in Ireland include the following 
published studies:

 > Clarke  and  Eustace  (2009)  in  a  study  aimed  at  exploring  to  what  extent,  and 
how the contribution of social enterprises might be measured, focused on social 
enterprises in nine counties in Ireland. On the basis of 106 responses, they found 
that  social  enterprises  were  community  development  organisations  providing  a 
broad range of services which might include social care, education and training, 
childcare  and  youth  facilities.  Childcare  and  multi-purpose  enterprises  were  the 
most  common  categories.  There  was  a  high  level  of  state  subsidy  among  the 
enterprises  surveyed.  Just  over  half  (58%)  of  their  total  income  came  through 
grants (including services purchased by the State) with 36% earned through trading 
activity. The remaining 6% was generated through fundraising, donations and bank 
or credit union loans. Just over half of those surveyed generated a surplus, with 
82% of these generating less than EUR 50,000. Organisations had an average of 
fifteen paid workers and twelve volunteers.Prizeman and Crossman’s 2010 survey 
of social entrepreneurship elicited 194 responses out of a potential 3,717 from 
what is referred to as the "social economy continuum", which included foundations 
and educational institutions. The sample frame for this mapping study consisted 
of: winners of an Irish award for social entrepreneurship, a directory of non-profit 
enterprises  held  by  Trinity  College  Dublin  (note,  not  the  same  as  the  database 
of non-profit businesses used in the 2011 Clann Credo study), credit unions, and 
a  database  of  organisations  that  expressed  interest  in  the  research  of  Trinity 
College Dublin. The results generated by this mapping study provide a picture of 
social entrepreneurial enterprises in Ireland, but have not been referenced in this 

(12)  With the caveat that the few studies to have been published have generally been limited and/
or based on surveys with relatively low response rates. There is no real consensus about the size of the 
sector or its likely parameters. Social enterprises are not included in official statistics and estimates vary 
greatly and can easily be contested.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDAppendices | 33

summary due to uncertainties over the extent to which these organisations can be 
considered to be social enterprises (as defined by the EU operational definition). 
The enterprises that responded were predominantly involved in the provision of 
state services (42%) or selling services without state support (30%). In terms of 
income source, almost half (45%) had generated 30% of their income in 2009. 
Significantly, almost three out of every five respondents (59%) had not generated 
surplus income in the previous three years. Similarly, a study of the Irish non-
profit sector (RSM, McClure, Watters, 2012), while acknowledging the diversity 
of the sector and the existence of social enterprises within it, does not identify 
social enterprises as a separate sub-category. The analysis of 506 organisations 
with  a  total  income  of  EUR  636  million  found  that  only  4%  of  their  income 
came from sales or fees. In fact state grants and contracts accounted for the 
greatest  share  (54%)  of  income,  while  the  second  largest  share  (25%)  came 
from individual giving.

 > The  Forfás  (2013)  review  reported  that  there  were  1,420  social  enterprises  in 
Ireland in 2009, employing over 25,000 people, with a total income of around EUR 
1.4 billion. A vast majority (63%) of these "enterprises" however, did not generate 
any  revenues  from  trading  activity,  i.e.  direct  sale  of  goods  and  services  in  the 
market place.

A study completed in 2016 of 3,376 rural based social enterprises indicated that these 
entities accounted for an estimated 1,200 full-time and 70 part-time positions. This 
confirmed the high level of participation in work integration schemes among Irish social 
enterprises highlighted in previous studies (O’ Shaughnessy, 2008; Hynes, 2016: 24).

Table 3. Main data on social enterprises

Social enterprises

Number of social 
enterprises

Workforce 

Volunteers

Turnover

2009

106

9,300

1,274

2011

1,420

25,000

3,100

EUR 240m

EUR 1.4 bn

Source: Clarke and Eustace (2009) based on 106 responses.
Source: Clann Credo (2011) based on data collected from social enterprises and community businesses 
in 2009.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND34 | Mapping

These data are provided with the caveat that several reports on social enterprise in 
Ireland  have  pointed  to  the  limited  empirical  evidence  and  data  about  the  scope, 
prevalence and contribution of social enterprises in Ireland.

3.2. Social enterprise characteristics

3.2.1. Sectors of activity

According to the 2013 Forfás review, almost a third of all social enterprises were found 
to  work  in  childcare.  After  this,  there  was  a  wide  diversity  of  sectors,  covering  arts, 
tourism and leisure, social housing/accommodation, social services, and environmental 
services. Almost a third of organisations classed themselves as multi-functional. No 
further disaggregation or definition was provided by the study. More detailed evidence 
on the sector of operation of social enterprises in Ireland is provided by information 
on the sector of recipients of social investment by Clann Credo (Clann Credo, 2011). It 
should be noted that the figures are not based on any definition of a social enterprise. 
Instead,  the  estimate  was  derived  from  the  numbers  of  enterprises  registered  on  a 
non-profit  business  database  that  were  both  companies  limited  by  guarantee  and 
registered charities. It has been noted elsewhere that these figures could be somewhat 
inflated given that 63% of those involved in the study did not have any traded income 
in the previous year and the remainder had a traded income that made up just 17% of 
their total income.

Clearly this sample is skewed towards those organisations that were willing and able to 
secure loan finance, so results should be treated with caution. Of their 2011 outstanding 
loan portfolio, around a quarter of loans were with community facilities, and around 
ten per cent were with social enterprises in the arts and tourism sectors. Again, after 
this there was considerable diversity, encompassing enterprise centres, sports facilities, 
youth  centres,  social  housing,  and  addiction/counselling  centres.  Evidence  can  also 
be sourced from small scale surveys which confirm social enterprise activity in food 
and catering, tourism, arts, culture, music, recycling, transport and distribution, serving 
both  the  business-to-business  and  public  sector  markets  along  with  selling  directly 
to individual markets (Hynes, 2016: 24). This picture is confirmed by the stakeholder 
interviews,  which  refer  to  a  wide  range  of  activities,  including  those  that  provide 
sheltered employment or have environmental missions. Most commonly though, social 
enterprises tend to complement and/or fill gaps in public/private sector infrastructure 
and service provision (e.g. child care, elderly care, healthcare, enterprise development, 
community  services/development,  social  housing,  etc.).  Their  target  groups  include 
including the long-term unemployed, young people not in employment, education or 

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDMapping | 35

training, disadvantaged and underinvested urban and rural communities, people with 
mental health difficulties, people from disadvantaged groups and older people. There 
are also examples of social enterprises in the manufacturing sector (e.g. the Speedpak 
Group has two such manufacturing businesses).

Figure 1 illustrates the continuum of Irish social enterprises.

Figure 1. Continuum of Irish Social Enterprise

3.2.2. Sources of income

A 2011 study sought to estimate the extent to which social enterprises were reliant 
on traded income. It was found that almost two thirds of all "social enterprises" (and 
community businesses) in Ireland did not generate any income from traded activities. 
The  one  third  remaining  together  had  a  total  traded  income  of  243.5  million  EUR. 
This suggests that grants—a direct statutory payment to support the activities of the 
social enterprises—constitute a vital element of overall income for social enterprises 
in Ireland. Of the one third of social enterprises that did generate income from traded 
activities, on average just 17% of income came from this source, indicating that grants 
remain a very important source of income, even for those social enterprises that do 
operate on a more commercial basis.

Turnover

According to the 2011 Clann Credo study social enterprises were reported to have a 
total turnover of 1.4 billion EUR in 2009 (based on 1,420 enterprises). The average 
annual turnover of a social enterprise in Ireland was calculated to be just over 1 million 
EUR. However, this figure was skewed by the presence of a small number of large social 
enterprises (it was reported that one social enterprise had an annual turnover of more 

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND36 | Mapping

than 200 million EUR a year). Most social enterprises in Ireland are in fact small: around 
a third reported annual turnover of less than 100,000 EUR, and 60% reported annual 
turnover of less than 300,000 EUR a year.

3.2.3. Use of paid workers and volunteers

The  1,420  social  enterprises  identified  in  the  2011  report  were  reported  to  employ 
around  25,000  people  in  2009,  which  was  equivalent  to  around  2%  of  the  total 
national workforce. On average, social enterprises were thus reported to employ around 
17  people  each.  Note  that  another  estimate  (Clarke  and  Eustace,  2009)  put  total 
employment in social enterprises at around 9,300 jobs in 2009, with another 5,300 
supported  indirectly.  It  was  also  reported  that  for  every  person  employed  by  social 
enterprises, another person was activated as a volunteer (which would mean a further 
9,000 people activated through social enterprises). It should be noted that this estimate 
was derived by grossing up nationally from a sample of the characteristics of social 
enterprises in nine counties. The study did not discuss the reliability of this estimate, 
or the extent to which the nine selected counties were reflective of the rest of Ireland. 
There is a significant difference between the estimates of employment between the 
2011 and 2009 studies—even though they relate to the same year—which results from 
the application of two different methodologies. Additional significant differences can be 
seen in the estimates presented in 2016 survey of rural based social enterprises.

The following social enterprise characteristics can be drawn from existing studies of 
Irish social enterprises overall:

Legal Form

There is no specific legal form for a social enterprise in Ireland. The legal option available 
to a social enterprise is to become a trading enterprise by setting up a company limited 
by share or limited by guarantee. The most common legal form adopted by Irish social 
enterprises is a company limited by guarantee. Many social enterprises will also hold 
a CHY number, thus effectively making them charities, with the associated limitations.

Business models

The typical business models adopted by Irish social enterprises include social enterprises 
that: trading in a service or product that offers a social good and a high potential income 
generation capacity; working with individuals who are marginalized and disadvantaged 
and  seeking  market  opportunities  in  suitable  sectors  and  industries  for  their  labour; 
identifying a gap in infrastructure or services where the private sector has not been 
able to develop a commercially viable solution; operating primarily as a delivery agent 
of public sector services (often, but not always to individuals and groups who are not in 
a position to pay full commercial rates for services) (Forfas, 2013:15).

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDMapping | 37

Social impact

The social impact of the social enterprise sector in Ireland is predominantly twofold. 
Firstly, the sector is acclaimed with the potential to create and provide jobs to those 
most distant from the labour market, both spatially and socially. Estimates in 2009 
indicated that 25,000 direct jobs were created as a result of the social enterprise 
sector  in  Ireland,  and  these  were  expected  to  triple  if  appropriate  conditions  for 
sector growth continued. Secondly, as identified in the 2013 Forfás review, the social 
impact  also  encompasses  delivery  of  welfare  services.  This  encompasses  delivery 
of public sector services or stepping in where the private sector has not been able 
to  develop  a  commercially  viable  solution.  The  ILDN  (2016)  also  refer  to  the  role 
of social enterprises in building confidence, developing a range of competencies at 
community level, and creating work opportunities for those who would otherwise find 
it difficult to secure employment.

3.3. Summary of mapping results

It is acknowledged in the 2019 National Policy that the "lack of understanding of what 
social  enterprises  are,  and  what  they  do,  has  also  contributed  to  a  general  lack  of 
awareness of social enterprises in Ireland and has made it difficult to collect reliable 
data on their social and economic impact" (DCRD, 2019: 6). However, a key objective 
of  this  2019  policy  is  to  build  awareness  of  social  enterprise  in  Ireland,  which  will 
invariably address this deficit in reliable data.

Table 4. Summary of mapping results (based on 2009 data published in the 
Forfas Review)

Characteristics

Description

Legal form

Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG) without share capital (most 
commonly adopted)

Source of Income

Mixture of traded revenue, subsidies and grants, donations

Social Impact

Job creation, social integration, service provision to disadvantaged 
communities, environmental services, social capital through 
volunteerism, improved local governance, tackle social, societal and 
environmental challenges

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND38 | Mapping

Characteristics

Description

Turnover

Average turnover is approximately EUR 1 million, but a 2009 study 
indicated that one third of social enterprises had turnover of less than 
100,000 EUR

Workers

In 2009, estimated employment of approximately 25,000

Field of activity

Enterprise centres, sports facilities, youth centres, social housing, 
and addiction/counselling centres. Evidence can also be sourced from 
small scale surveys which confirm social enterprise activity in food 
and catering, tourism, arts, culture, music, recycling, transport and 
distribution

To reiterate a key theme emerging from the research which underpins the publication 
of the 2019 National Social Enterprise Policy highlight the imperative to "gather data 
on social enterprise and to understand its economic and social impact in more detail. 
Establishing the size, reach and impact of social enterprise is essential to inform policy 
development  in  the  years  ahead.  It  is  widely  acknowledged  that  the  current  lack  of 
comprehensive and reliable data needs to be addressed" (DCRD, 2019: 23).

Table 5. Irish social enterprises against the EU operational definition of social 
enterprise

Dimension

Criterion

Company Limited By Guarantee 
without share capital

Entrepreneurial 
dimension

Engagement in economic activity

Use of paid workers

Share of income derived from: fees 
(incl. membership fees); trading income; 
rental income on assets; income from 
public contracting (both competitive 
tenders and direct contracting); grants 
and donations etc.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Social aim (public benefit)

Cleaning, maintenance services, 
textiles, construction

Social dimension

Target groups (customers/users of 
goods and services provided)

Fields of activity

Diverse

Diverse

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDMapping | 39

Dimension

Criterion

Limits on distribution of profits and/or 
assets

Company Limited By Guarantee 
without share capital

Profits must be reinvested back into 
the business- many hold charitable 
status

Governance

Transparency

Autonomy - organisational autonomy

Yes

Yes

Inclusive governance

Possible – voluntary board of directors 

Estimated number

-

15,633 registered with CRO - 
(unknown what % are social 
enterprises)

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND4

ECOSYSTEM

The ecosystem for Irish social enterprises has been enriched in the last decade 
through the emergence of national support networks, advocacy groups and 
increased  access  to  social  and  micro-financial  support  mechanisms  as  a 
result of national, EU and philanthropic support. New opportunities for social 
enterprises have become available since the transposition of two EU Directives 
on public procurement into Irish law in 2016.

42 | Ecosystem

4.1. Key actors

The ecosystem for social enterprises in Ireland is shaped by a variety of key actors that 
have contributed to developing national support policies and measures, supporting the 
emergence of social enterprises and contributing to the national debate on the sector. 
Key actors include national, regional and local policy-makers, research and education, 
social enterprise networks and financial intermediaries. Table 6 illustrates some of the 
key actors in this ecosystem.

Table 6. Main actors in Irish ecosystem

Type of institution/
Organisation

Actor

Policy and statutory

Research and Education

Networks, support and 
advocacy

 > Local Authorities – Local Government
 > Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs)
 > Local Development Companies
 > Social Enterprise Task Force
 > Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government
 > Department Community and Rural Development (DCRD)
 > POBAL – Government supporting communities

 > University College Cork
 > Dublin City University
 > Trinity College Dublin
 > University of Limerick
 > University College Dublin
 > National University of Ireland, Galway
 > Technological University Dublin
 > Cork Institute of Technology
 > Social Innovation Fund Ireland Social Enterprise Accelerator Fund

 > Irish Social Enterprise Network
 > Irish Local Development Network (ILDN)
 > The Wheel
 > Social Entrepreneurs Ireland
 > Social Innovation Fund Ireland
 > National, regional and local forums e.g. Waterford Social Enterprise 

Network

 > Support and advocacy networks
 > Networks running entrepreneurial activities and social enterprise 

incubators – SEDCo, Social Enterprise Development Company, Partas

Financial intermediaries

 > Traditional banks
 > Social Finance Ireland
 > Community Finance (Ireland)
 > Clann Credo
 > Credit Unions

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND4.2. Policy schemes and support measures

There are a variety of public policy support schemes open to all Irish SMEs, including social enterprises. The main support schemes/measures are 
presented in table 7 and are classified on the basis of the types of enterprises supported.

Ecosystem | 43

Table 7. Examples of supporting measures

Example of support measures available to all enterprises

Policy

National/local

Source

Source of financing

Status

Rural Development Programme – 
LEADER (LDC)

National

Department of Agriculture, Food and the 
Marine 

National & EU funds

Current 

Enterprise Ireland - New Frontiers 
Entrepreneur Development 
Programme

National

Department of Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation

National & EU funds

Current 

Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs)

National 

Department of Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation  National & EU funds 

Current 

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND44 | Ecosystem

Example of support measures available to social economy/non-profit organisations

Policy

National/local

Source

Source of financing

Status

Active Labour Market Schemes – CE, 
Tus

Community Services Programme & 
SICAP (Social Inclusion & Community 
Activation Programme)

National

Department of Social Protection

National & EU funds

Current

National

POBAL

National & EU funds

Current 

Example of support measures available to social enterprises

Policy

National/local

Source

Source of financing

Status

Social Enterprise Grant Scheme

Regional – Dublin

LDC, LEO and Local Authority

National & EU funds

Social Enterprise Development Fund 
2018-2020

National

Social Innovation Fund Ireland (SIFI) in 
partnership with Local Authorities Ireland and 
funded by IPB Insurance and the Department 
of Rural and Community Development(1)

National & local funds, 
philanthropic & private funds 

Current

Current

Social Enterprise Measure of the 
Dormant Account Fund (DAF)

Kick Start Fund to support WISEs in 
the Criminal Justice System

Wage Subsidy Scheme available to 
WISEs

National

POBAL(2)

National funds

Current

National

Department of Justice and Equality(3)

National funds

Current

National

Department of Social Protection

National & EU funds

Current

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDEcosystem | 45

4.2.1. Support measures addressed to all enterprises that fulfil specific 

criteria (that may also benefit social enterprises)

The  EC  Financial  Framework  2014-2020  provides  for  a  range  of  funds  that  are 
potentially relevant for all Irish enterprises (including social enterprises):

Rural Development Programme - LEADER

The LEADER Programme across Europe is acknowledged as one of the most successful 
EU programmes for local development. Ireland, in particular, is considered to be a good 
practice example of how to manage EU funding for local development using the principles 
underpinning LEADER. The EU’s RDP is funded through the European Agricultural Fund 
for  Rural  Development  (EAFRD).  The  potential  for  social  enterprise  development  lies 
in  meeting  the  6th  EU  priority  of  "Promoting  Social  Inclusion,  Poverty  Reduction  and 
Economic  Development  in  Rural  Areas".  The  Commission  formally  adopted  the  RDP 
programme for Ireland on 25 May 2015. This allows for a total programme amount 
of  250  million  EUR  with  support  for  social  enterprise  available  through  the  LEADER 
themes  of  Economic  Development  and  Job  Creation  and  Social  Inclusion  in  sectors 
such as rural tourism, enterprise development and basic services targeted at hard-to-
reach communities.

COSME  (Competitiveness  of  Enterprises  and  Small  and  Medium-sized 
Enterprises)

EU-funded programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-
sized Enterprises (COSME) running from 2014-2020 with a planned budget of 2.3 billion 
EUR. The purpose of COSME is to facilitate access to finance for Small and Medium-
sized Enterprises (SMEs), create an environment favourable to business creation and 
growth,  encourage  an  entrepreneurial  culture  in  Europe,  increase  the  sustainable 
competitiveness  of  EU  companies  and  help  small  businesses  operate  outside  their 
home countries and improving their access to markets.

Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs)

LEOs provide a range of financial supports designed to assist with the establishment 
and/or growth of enterprises (limited company, individuals/sole trader, cooperatives and 
partnerships) employing up to ten people. These include: feasibility/innovation grants, 
priming grants and business expansion grants.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND46 | Ecosystem

4.2.2. Support measures addressed to social economy/non-profit 
organisations (that may also benefit social enterprises)

Community Foundation for Ireland (CFI)

The Community Foundation for Ireland was established in 2000. Founded by businesses, 
NGOs  and  employer  organisations,  the  main  objective  of  the  fund  is  to  grow  a 
philanthropic ethos in Ireland and support not-for-profit organisations. The foundation 
has made available over 25 million EUR to non-profit organisations, communities and 
charities since 2000.

Social Inclusion & Community Activation Programme (SICAP)

SICAP provides a range of supports to marginalized people and groups within designated 
communities. Its objective is to reach people who have difficulty accessing education, 
training and employment and link them with new opportunities. SICAP is underpinned by 
community development principles aimed at engaging local people and communities 
in identifying their priorities and determining the best response at local level.

Social Economy Programme (SEP)13

The  national  Social  Economy  Programme  was  launched  in  September  2000.  The 
SEP was launched with the goal of developing the social economy in order to tackle 
disadvantage and support community regeneration. The programme provided revenue 
grant support to "social economy enterprises", which included: "Community Businesses": 
analogous to social enterprises, in that they were largely financed from trading income 
and there was an expectation that they would be self-sustaining (i.e., would not need 
public sector grant support) in the medium-term; "Deficient Demand Social Economy 
Enterprises": organisations providing a good or service to a community where there is 
insufficient  demand  for  the  operation  of  a  market  (e.g.,  due  to  disadvantage  or  low 
density of population); and, "Enterprises Based on Public Sector Contracts": organisations 
that contract with the public sector to deliver public services in disadvantaged areas 
and communities. The programme was discontinued in 2008 and re-launched as the 
Community Services Programme (CSP).

Community Services Programme (CSP)

The  CSP  was  launched  in  2008  with  the  aim  of  supporting  community  businesses 
to help them deliver local community services and create employment opportunities 
for people from disadvantaged groups. The CSP has a specific focus on funding local 
services and employment opportunities for particularly disadvantaged groups in society. 
This is especially the case in communities where mainstream public and private sector 
supports are unavailable as a consequence of either geographical or social isolation. To 

(13)  The SEP was discontinued and re-launched as the CSP in 2006.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDEcosystem | 47

date, the CSP has supported over 425 community companies, cooperatives and social 
enterprises. The support model offered by the CSP is described as a social-enterprise 
model. This means that it does not fully fund contract holders (i.e., grant recipients), but 
requires that they generate revenue by charging fees or raising funds. These enterprises 
remain responsible for their own budgets and financial and other liabilities. However, 
only some of the organisations that participate in the CSP are enterprise driven, with 
many  exhibiting  considerable  reliance  on  state  funded  programmes  (WRC,  2003; 
Curtis et. al., 2011; Clann Credo, 2011; Forfás 2013). Other labour market integration 
initiatives  such  as  the  Rural  Social  Scheme  (RSS),  Community  Employment,  Tus  and 
Job Initiative have also been identified as providing support to social enterprises by 
providing an opportunity to acquire staff in short-term and temporary roles.

Illustration 4. Lisdoonan Recreational Development 

Association Ltd. (LRDA) Social Enterprise

Limited opportunities for local people to come together, and the danger of losing local 
identity, were two of driving forces for the initial development of this social enterprise 
located in Lisdoonan near Carrickmacross in County Monaghan. LRDA was established 
in 1993. It is structured as a company limited by guarantee and holds charitable status 
and is currently generating income from trading, statutory support and local voluntary 
fundraising.  Following  an  extensive  process  of  community  consultation,  LRDA’s  first 
venture  was  a  local  community  centre  to  facilitate  greater  social  interaction  in  the 
community.  An  extensive  campaign  of  local  fund  raising  included  securing  more 
than  100  EUR  from  approximately  75%  of  local  households,  the  organisation  of  a 
vintage rally14 and other fund-raising events, and sponsorship from local businesses. 
This  local  fundraising  strategy  combined  with  funding  from  the  local  development 
company, Monaghan Integrated Development (MID), the EU Peace and Reconciliation 
Programme and local authority grants enabled the promoters to purchase a site and 
build a community centre by 1998. This centre incorporates a meeting room, a sports 
hall, pool room, licensed bar and a fully equipped kitchen and is the venue for a variety 
of local social functions including family and sporting events.

Encouraged by the success of the centre, LRDA developed a range of additional local 
services to the community. One of the first of these was a day care service for older 
people, providing hot food and social contact twice monthly. In 1999, the association 
was approached by the HSE to consider the development of a social housing initiative. 

(14)  This vintage rally is an annual event and continues to raises a considerable amount of revenue 

for a range of local charities.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND48 | Ecosystem

The  committee  researched  and  visited  projects  elsewhere  and  set  up  a  separate 
company,  Lisdoonan  District  Housing  Association  Ltd.  With  the  financial  support 
of  the  Department  of  the  Environment,  Fortview  Housing  was  completed  in  2003. 
This  is  a  complex  of  14  two-bedroomed  houses  for  older  persons  with  a  separate 
communal  space  that  houses  laundry  facilities  and  a  guest  room.  In  2005,  in  order 
to  encourage  young  families  to  remain  in  the  community,  LRDA  built  six  affordable 
housing  units  in  the  village  which  were  funded  solely  by  the  profits  generated  from 
the community centre. The surplus generated from this enterprise was subsequently 
re-invested  in  the  development  of  another  initiative,  namely  a  village  supermarket 
facility with approximately 3,500 squared feet of retail and storage space, along with 
four other commercial units. The construction of this facility, aimed at stemming the 
drift to local towns for consumer services, received support from the International Fund 
for  Ireland,  the  Community  Enterprise  Trust  and  Monaghan  Integrated  Development 
(MID) which operates the RDP. Following an unsuccessful attempt to secure a suitable 
private  tenant  for  the  supermarket,  LRDA,  with  the  support  of  MID,  became  part  of 
the Community Services Programme (CSP) by establishing a community shop in 2007. 
Participation in the CSP allows LRDA to employ a manager and five full-time equivalents 
workers, including people with disabilities. The lease of commercial space to two other 
businesses (hairdresser and beautician) provides rental income as well as encouraging 
shop  customers  to  purchase  their  services.  Part  of  the  community  shop  includes  an 
in-store dining area which provides an important social outlet for many local people 
living on their own, such as elderly farmers. Food produced on the shop premises is also 
delivered to the day care centre and the Fortview houses. The shop also provides an 
outlet for the sale of local produce, and the advertisement of a range of local services, 
to the wider community. Thus, this complex has become a focal point and source of 
solidarity for the local community, especially those who are older and less mobile.

Among the strengths of LRDA are its innovative community response to local needs, 
the  exceptional  leadership  and  social  entrepreneurial  ethos  of  the  board,  and  their 
proven capacity to generate traded income. The board are, however, cautious about 
future projects. In light of recent declining revenue from the community centre, and the 
possibility of future cuts in public funding, they are re-focused on fundraising to build 
up reserves, as there are no debts related to the community recreational facility and 
housing units. LRDA regards the CSP as being critical for the long-term sustainability 
of the community shop and the retention of its staff. Some of the challenges for future 
development  include  the  need  to  replenish  the  board  with  new  members  and  skill 
sets,  as  most  of  the  original  members  remain.  Out-migration  as  a  consequence  of 
the downturn of the economy means that the pool of potential new members is quite 
small. A further significant challenge is the lack of adequate broadband infrastructure 
which is seen as an obstacle to future local business development.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDEcosystem | 49

4.2.3. Support measures specifically addressed to social enterprises

Social Enterprise Grant Scheme

The  Social  Enterprise  Grant  Scheme  is  a  "pilot"  scheme 
established  by  Inner  City 
Enterprise (ICE), and drawn down under the Local Enterprise Office (LEO), Dublin. The 
support scheme is specifically targeted at social enterprises, defined in this instance 
as businesses that generate traded income with social outputs, and in which all profit 
created  is  reinvested  into  the  business.15  The  scheme  provides  for  approximately 
45,000 EUR set up to provide a small number of flexible grants for social enterprises, 
either at the start-up or development phases.

Wage Subsidy Scheme

The  Wage  Subsidy  Scheme  provides  financial  incentives  to  work  integration  social 
enterprises  to  employ  disabled  people  who  work  more  than  20  hours  per  week.  A 
person on the Wage Subsidy Scheme is subject to the same conditions of employment 
as  other  employees.  These  conditions  include  PRSI  contributions,  annual  leave,  tax 
deductions and the going rate for the job.

EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EASI) and Microfinance

Micro-finance support for social enterprises and other micro-enterprises (headed up by 
vulnerable groups) is available through Microfinance Ireland (MFI). MFI is as a not-for-
profit lender and was established in 2012 to deliver the Government’s Microenterprise 
Loan Fund. MFI benefits significantly from a guarantee scheme funded by the European 
Union under the Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EASI). The objective 
of the guarantee facility is to increase the availability and accessibility of micro-finance 
for: (i) vulnerable people who wish to start-up or develop their own micro-enterprise; 
and (ii) existing micro-enterprises, in both the start-up and development phase.

Social Enterprise Measure of the Dormant Account Fund (DAF)

The 2019 National Social Enterprise Policy is based on a series of 26 commitments 
across  three  objectives:  (i)  Build  awareness  on  social  enterprise,  (ii)  Growing  and 
stregthening  social  enterprise  and  (iii)  Achieve  better  policy  alignment.  Financial 
support to achieve these objectives will in part be derived from the Dormant Accounts 
Fund (DAF). The DAF is a fund established by the Irish Government in 2012 to distribute 
unclaimed funds from accounts in credit institutions in Ireland to be used to support 
a  range  of  social  and  economic  development  initiatives,  including:  the  personal  and 
social  development  of  persons  who  are  economically  or  socially  disadvantaged,  the 
educational development of persons who are educationally disadvantaged, and persons 

(15)  https://www.localenterprise.ie/DublinCity/News/Press-Releases/The-Social-Enterprise-Grant-

Scheme.html.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND50 | Ecosystem

with a disability. In 2018 the Social Innovation Fund Ireland (SIFI) in partnership with 
Local  Authorities,  IPB  Insurance,  Department  of  Rural  and  Community  Development 
(DCRD) established the Social Enterprise Development Fund. This fund of 1.6 million 
EUR is delivered over a two-year period (2018-2020) and the DCRD provides match 
funding  of  all  philanthropic  funds  raised  by  SIFI  from  the  DAF.  In  addition  to  cash 
support the SIFI also offer a National Accelerator Programme specifically desined too 
assist social enterprises too scale up and deepen their social impact.16

The Irish Probation Services, in cooperation with the Irish Prison Service supported by 
the Department of Justice and Equality launched a Social Enterprise Strategy in 2017. 
The  strategy  is  designed  to  support  work-integration  social  enterprises  to  help  ex-
offenders reintegrate into the labour force.

4.3. Public procurement framework

New opportunities for social enterprises are presented in the transposition of two EU 
Directives on public procurement into Irish law on May 5th 2016. The two Regulations 
made  by  the  Minister  of  Public  Expenditure  and  Reform  under  SI  284  of  2016  and 
implementing EU Public Procurement Directive 2004/24/EC cover public procurement in 
the public service and in the utilities sector. This is a reform to the Public Procurement 
Directive (2014/24/EU: the "Classical") and the Utilities Directive (2014/25/EU: Utilities) 
which includes a provision for the possible ring fencing or reserving of particular contracts 
for  social  enterprises  under  certain  conditions.  Additional  information  is  provided  in 
Section 5.2, where stakehodlers’ insights on public procurement are discussed.

4.4. Networks and mutual support mechanisms

There  has  been  a  growth  in  national,  regional  and  local  social  enterprise/social 
entrepreneur networks and advocacy organisation supported by the Irish government 
and philanthropic support. The following is a sample of these.

(16)  The list of 52 social enterprises that benefitted from this fund in 2018 is available here: https://
www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/4594/141218155040-f0385bd9e5c04fcfb0a90785b8f5
9f26.pdf#page=1.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDEcosystem | 51

4.4.1. Representative bodies - advocacy

The Irish Social Enterprise Network describes itself as the largest open and exclusive 
network  for  social  enterprises,  social  entrepreneurs  and  social  innovators  in  Ireland. 
The network uses the Commission definition of a social business to describe a social 
enterprise as one: whose primary objective is to achieve social impact rather than to 
generate  profit  for  owners  and  shareholders;  which  operates  in  the  market  through 
the production of goods and services in an entrepreneurial and innovative way; which 
uses surpluses mainly to achieve these social goals and, which is managed by social 
entrepreneurs in an accountable and transparent way, in particular by involving workers, 
customers and stakeholders affected by its business activity.

4.4.2. National and local consortia

Social Enterprise Task Force (SEFT)

The Social Enterprise Task Force (SETF) (formerly Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship 
Task Force) was initially established in 2009. The purpose of SETF, a network of key 
sector  stakeholders,  is  to  promote  social  enterprise  and  social  entrepreneurship  and 
to  contribute  to  the  development  of  appropriate  national  supportive  policies  for  the 
development of the sector.

Irish Local Development Network (ILDN)

The ILDN (Irish Local Development Network) is one of the most recent national networks 
to have confirmed its role in supporting social enterprises in local communities. Local 
development organisations play host to regional social enterprise networks and social 
enterprise  forums.  The  commitment  of  the  ILDN  (a  representative  network  of  49 
LDCs¬ – Local Development Companies) is illustrated by its commissioning of a report 
entitled "Creating and Enabling, Supportive Environment for the Social Enterprise Sector 
in Ireland" which was published in June 2016. Local Development Companies (LDCs) 
have been instrumental in facilitating and supporting the emergence of regional social 
enterprise  networks  through  the  provision  of  information  and  networking  events  to 
locally based social enterprises and social entrepreneurs.

4.4.3. Networks running entrepreneurial activities and social enterprises 

incubators

Social Entrepreneurs Ireland is a registered charity and provides networking for social 
entrepreneurs. Mentoring and support is provided, including an Elevator Programme 
and  boot  camp,  for  potential  social  entrepreneurs.  Social  Entrepreneurs  Ireland 
also contributes to raising the profile of the sector through an annual awards and 
showcasing event.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND52 | Ecosystem

4.5. Research, education and skills development

There is widespread agreement on the need to improve capacity within the Irish social 
enterprise sector. Initiatives aimed at addressing this include the following university-
based  programmes  (offered  via  distance  and  blended  learning  platforms)  targeting 
the community and voluntary sector: Diploma in Social Integration and Enterprise for 
the  Community  Development  Worker,  Masters  in  Community  and  Voluntary  Sector 
Management, BSc Rural Development by Distance Learning and the MBS Co-operative 
and  Social  Enterprise  offered  at  University  College  Cork.  Each  of  these  programmes 
contain specific "social enterprise" related course material and they recruit practitioner 
students from within the sector. Dublin City University Business School in conjunction 
with  the  Ryan  Academy  have  developed  a  Masters  programme  in  Innovation  for 
Social  Entrepreneurs  with  a  specific  focus  on  social  enterprise  professionals.  Local 
Development Companies also play a role in enhancing the skills of the sector. In 2012 
the Paul Partnership in Limerick launched a Community and Social Enterprise Programme 
which included the provision of seminars to promote community and social enterprise 
and business leadership skills within the sector. Social Entrepreneurs Ireland provides 
training  camps  and  a  range  of  business  and  mentoring  support  for  potential  social 
entrepreneurs. More specifically, in September 2019 the DCRD announced 800,000 EUR 
in funding for the provision of training and mentoring for social enterprises throughout 
Ireland. The funding is to be provided from the Dormant Accounts Fund and its purpose 
is to support one of the key policy commitments in the National Social Enterprise Policy 
for Ireland (DCRD, 2019).

4.6. Financing

4.6.1. Demand for finance

A  recent  study  of  the  social  enterprise  sector  in  Ireland  highlights  the  difficulties 
experienced  by  the  sector  in  accessing,  and  securing,  finance  from  mainstream  and 
public  funding  institutions.  Consequently,  many  have  become  reliant  on  a  range  of 
funding  sources  including  individual  contributions,  foundation  grants,  user  fees, 
fundraising  and  government  payments;  due  to  the  limited  availability  of  alternative 
revenue streams (Hynes, 2016:52; O’ Shaughnessy and O’ Hara (2015). In terms of 
social  investment,  there  is  very  little  published  evidence  of  the  demand  for  finance 
within the sector. It is reported that community organisations need finance for a variety 
of purposes, including bridging finance (typically a loan to cover operating costs until 
they receive grant financing), and resources to fund acquisitions. CIF (formerly UCIT) 
reported  that  the  average  loan  size  requested  by  community  organisations  was 

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDEcosystem | 53

150,000 EUR (i.e., much higher than UCIT’s actual average loan size, which is around 
100,000 EUR). Clann Credo estimated that loans of between 30,000 and 100,000 EUR 
were the most common amounts sought by applicants, although smaller loans than 
this have been made available to social enterprises. Views from the social investment 
sector suggested that demand for social investment in Ireland has traditionally been 
constrained by the volume of grant funding available from government and from other 
sources. In the past few years, this constraint has eased as cutbacks within government 
reduce the amount of grant funding available, though these cutbacks have also reduced 
demand for the services provided by some community organisations. More generally, 
interviewees reported that demand for social investment is increasing due to greater 
awareness  that  it  is  an  option  for  community  organisations.  Investment  readiness 
within the sector is seen to be improving.

Representatives  from  within  the  social  investment  sector  reported  that  retail  banks 
provide significant amounts of finance to community organisations, though since their 
motive is to secure a commercial return they may not even be aware that they are 
serving  the  sector.  It  was  suggested  that  some  businesses—particularly  those  that 
generate  greater  proportions  of  their  income  from  traded  activities—would  typically 
not  consider  social  investment  rather  than  mainstream  finance.  However,  it  has 
been reported that many community organisations cannot secure finance from retail 
banks, primarily because banks require personal guarantees. Since many community 
organisations are staffed by volunteers, this requirement is too much of a commitment 
for  many  individuals.  It  was  also  suggested  that  governance  arrangements  within 
community organisations often constitute a barrier to bank investment.

It  is  estimated  that  Clann  Credo  accepts  around  80%  of  applications;  CIF  (formerly 
UCIT)  reported  met  between  70-80%  of  demand  for  investment  from  community 
organisations.  Both  organisations,  therefore,  funded  the  majority  of  the  community 
organisations that applied for finance. This is in part due to their work with community 
organisations  prior  to  the  submission  of  a  formal  application.  This  process  involves 
determining the financial needs of an organisation (which may result in referral to a 
grant-making  body  instead),  and  also  their  suitability  as  an  investment.  As  a  result, 
organisations that reach the application stage are typically more investment ready, and 
thus unlikely to be rejected. Those applicants who were not funded were seen by both 
organisations  as  unsuitable  investment  prospects.  For  example,  Community  Finance 
(Ireland) (formerly UCIT) estimated that around 10% of loan applications are rejected 
because the business proposition is not viable, 5% are rejected because they are outside 
of the organisation’s sector of activity (primarily due to concerns over social impacts), 
and 5% were rejected because they were not within the organisation’s geographical 
catchment area (no longer relevant condition as the organisation has since expanded). 
In terms of the constraints on the growth of the social investment market, interviewees 
highlighted demand-side barriers. A suppression of demand due to a culture of grant 
dependency was identified as an ongoing—though decreasing—problem.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND54 | Ecosystem

4.6.2. Supply of finance

Funding/financing sources available include:

 > The  Social  Finance  Foundation  which  distributes  loan  finance  via  two  approved 

social lending organisations.

 > Bank finance through Triodos Bank serving Ireland.

 > Funding for social entrepreneurs through the Arthur Guinness Fund (Philanthropy). 

 > Ulster Bank Business Achievers Awards (Social Entrepreneurship).

 > Enterprise  Ireland  (in  particular  to  social  enterprises  engaged  in  the  export  of 

goods).

 > A Social Enterprise Grant Scheme of approximately 50,000 EUR which was set 
aside  to  provide  a  number  of  small  grants  for  start-up  or  early  development 
social enterprises. This initiative is described as a "pilot" scheme established by 
Dublin  Inner  City  Enterprise  (ICE),  and  drawn  down  under  the  Local  Enterprise 
Office (LEO), Dublin.

In addition to the mainstream financial institutions, there is a significant credit union 
sector  in  Ireland  with  potential  for  the  financing  of  social  enterprises.  There  are 
approximately 339 active credit unions with a total asset base of 15 billion EUR. These 
are described as "independent financial entities, of varying sizes", as the majority of 
credit  unions  have  assets  of  below  25  million  EUR  (170  credit  unions  representing 
about  14%  of  sector  assets  have  an  average  individual  asset  size  of  just  over  12 
million  EUR)  and  an  estimated  37  credit  unions  have  assets  of  100  million  EUR  or 
more and account for just over 40% of total sector assets (McKiernan, 2015). One of 
the recommendations to emerge from the 2013 Government-sponsored review of the 
Irish social enterprise sector was for those credit unions of sufficient scale to consider 
opportunities for lending to the social enterprise sector, including exploring the possibility 
of forming a new credit union with the specific objective of lending to social enterprises 
(Forfas, 2013). Worth noting also is the establishment of Social Innovation Fund Ireland 
in 2013. The purpose of the fund is to provide funds to scale social innovations that 
have  a  widespread  impact  on  critical  social  problems  facing  Irish  society.  Described 
as  a  means  to  offer  donors  and  philanthropists  a  meaningful  way  to  support  social 
issues in Irish society; every euro in private funding is matched by a euro from the Irish 
government. Another actor in this field includes Microfinance Ireland (MFI). MFI a not-
for-profit lender that was established to deliver the Irish Government’s Micro Enterprise 
Loan Fund. The fund provides unsecured loans from 2,000 to 25,000 EUR with a term 
of 3-5 years. Eligible enterprises must have fewer than 10 employees and an annual 
turnover of less than 2 million EUR.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDEcosystem | 55

The social investment market is relatively small, with supply dominated by two lending 
organisations—Clann  Credo  and  Community  Finance  Ireland  (CFI).  Supply  of  capital 
increased significantly from 2007 with the government-backed creation of the Social 
Finance Foundation, with just under 100 million EUR provided by the Irish banking sector, 
in the form of non-repayable equity and low interest loan funding. The Social Finance 
Foundation can be described as a unique collaboration between the Government and 
the Irish Banking Industry. In July 2006, the Government approved the implementation 
of  the  Social  Finance  Initiative.  It  established  a  not-for-profit  company  (limited  by 
guarantee and having no share capital) to act as a wholesale supplier of finance for 
the  social  sector.  By  January  2007,  the  Social  Finance  Foundation  was  established. 
Seed capital of 25 million EUR was made available by the banking industry through 
the Irish Banking Federation with additional funding support made available in 2009, 
through a twelve-year 72 million EUR loan agreement at a discounted rate of interest. 
The SFF acts as a wholesaler to a set of approved Social Lending Organisations (SLOs). 
Clann Credo and CFI are both approved SLOs. Under the system implemented by SFF, 
the SLOs are responsible for generating and evaluating loan applications, though the 
SFF retains the right to refuse loan applications (though in most cases they accept the 
recommendations of the SLO). The capital is disbursed by SFF, with SLOs receiving all 
interest payments and the SFF retaining the principal. Since 2007 the Social Finance 
Foundation had approved over 80 million EUR in loans.

Clann Credo have been operating for many years and were pioneers of social finance 
in  Ireland.  To  date  the  foundation  has  approved  over  80  million  EUR  of  loans  (SFF, 
2016).  Clann  Credo  has  largely  been  funded  by  charitable  donations  from  religious 
organisations  (around  10  million  EUR)  and  aims  to  "provide  affordable  loan  finance 
to  community,  voluntary  and  charitable  organisations,  community  businesses  and 
social enterprises throughout Ireland and abroad". Clann Credo lends to organisations—
including social enterprises—that generate a "social dividend" and also have the capacity 
to repay their loan. Within these parameters there is flexibility in who the organisation 
will lend to, though an interviewee noted that they are in principle reluctant to lend to 
social entrepreneurs who operate on a for-profit basis, and distribute profits to private 
individuals (even though they may generate significant social outcomes through their 
trading  activities).  Types  of  loans  provided  include:  bridging  loans,  working  capital 
loans, match funding loans, capital equipment loans and property loans. Beneficiaries 
include: community owned enterprises and social enterprises, social housing initiatives, 
accessible  transport,  community  childcare,  arts,  culture  &  heritage  projects  and 
environmental projects.

The  second  SLO  is  Community  Finance  (Ireland).  Formerly  UCIT,  CFI  is  a  registered 
charity that provides loans to a range of third-sector organisations including community 
groups, charities, sports clubs and social enterprises in the Republic of Ireland. Since 
2001, as part of the wider UCIT Group, CFI has committed over 70 million EUR to over 

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND56 | Ecosystem

360 organisations across the island of Ireland. In 2007 Community Finance (Ireland) 
received  accreditation  from  the  Social  Finance  Foundation,  Dublin,  to  enable  the 
organisation to access a 70 million EUR fund for investment throughout the Republic. As 
a registered charity, all profits generated by Community Finance (Ireland) are retained 
and recycled for reinvestment into the third sector. The goal of CFI is to provide "social 
finance, free advice, business support and mentoring to the social economy sector in 
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland". Social economy is defined as: community 
organisations, charities and social enterprises. Social enterprises are defined on the basis 
of the definition of social enterprises published by the Northern Ireland Department for 
Enterprise  Trade  and  Investment  (DETI).  In  deciding  whether  to  invest,  CFI  considers 
whether an organisation has a clear social purpose, and also whether it has a viable 
business model. Loan finance is available for: buildings and equipment, working capital, 
cash shortfalls, bridging finance against delayed grants or other confirmed income, and 
restructuring of debt. CFI won "Best for Affordable Community Finance" at the 2015 
Finance Awards, organised by London-based Wealth & Finance Magazine.

The scale of social investment

During 2014, CFI (formerly UCIT) approved 3.6 million EUR worth of loans in the Republic 
of  Ireland  and  3.3  million  GBP  in  Northern  Ireland  to  71  community  organisations, 
charities and social enterprises. Clann Credo, in 2014, approved new lending of 14.2 
million EUR to 106 new community based projects. Clann Credo offers both secured 
and  unsecured  loans.  Equity  and  quasi-equity  is  also  available,  and  in  the  past  the 
organisation has made such investments. However, it was reported that demand was 
low (the legal structure of community organisations, including some social enterprises, 
may make equity investments difficult), and a representative of Clann Credo noted that 
pricing equity investments to reflect the risk involved could be problematic. CFI offers 
both secured and unsecured loans to community organisations, and also equity (though 
so far no equity investments have been made, due to a lack of demand).

Table 8 summarizes the terms associated with the social investment products provided 
by Clann Credo and CFI.

Table 8. Terms for social finance in Ireland

Finance provider

Type of finance

Maximum size 
available (EUR)

Average 
interest rate

Average term 
(years)

Clann Credo

Loans

CFI (formerly UCIT)

Loans

500,000

500,000

5-6%

6%

7

8

Source: Clann Credo and UCIT.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDEcosystem | 57

Recent innovations in the Irish social investment market

In 2013, the Irish Government introduced the first Social Impact Investment project. 
Clann Credo was appointed to manage the initiative, more commonly known as Social 
Impact  Investing  (SII).  SII  is  a  model  of  investment  that  allows  investors  to  support 
projects that seek to alleviate significant social issues. In this model, the State pays an 
amount/fee linked to extent to which the intervention is successful. Described by Clann 
Credo as an "alternative model of investment", the approach "seeks to produce both a 
social and a financial return". The social issue targeted in this initiative is homelessness 
in the Dublin area. The objective of the project is to source suitable accommodation 
for  136  homeless  families  living  in  emergency  accommodation.  Clann  Credo  has 
established Homelessness Interventions Limited (HIL) as the special purpose vehicle 
for the project. The charity Focus Ireland was appointed to undertake the interventions 
with  the  families,  some  of  whom  have  been  in  inappropriate,  private  emergency 
accommodation for up to eight years. The families include over 250 children. In the initial 
phase of the project, 75 families have been moved from emergency accommodation, 
to appropriate, sustainable accommodation. The structure of the initiative is that Dublin 
City Council will pay HIL for families who remain in new accommodation for more than 
six months. HIL is seeking to raise investor loans of 500,000 EUR to fund the working 
capital needed to finish the project. This working capital will bridge the gap between 
the payments received from Dublin City Council for success, and the cost of running the 
project (Clann Credo, 2015).

4.6.3. Market gaps/deficiencies

Demand-side constraints have been identified as a key issue in the sector. Since the 
establishment of the SFF, it has been noted that there is sufficient capital available to 
meet demand. Instead, it was suggested that any constraints on the volume of social 
investment are due to a lack of quality investment opportunities, driven in part by the 
economic climate (including cutbacks in government expenditure on welfare), and by 
a  tradition  of  grant-dependency  amongst  social  enterprises.  However,  in  reality  it  is 
likely that the market gaps and deficiencies relate to both demand-side and supply-
side constraints. For example, Brennan (2012) notes that the current range of financial 
products  does  not  "fit"  the  social  enterprise  market.  He  also  adds  that  assessment 
systems, techniques and criteria used are geared to conventional personal or business 
loans and are not appropriate for the different objectives and characteristics of social 
enterprises. This is unlikely to be a deliberate policy by the mainstream providers, but 
rather reflects the lack of understanding of the unique characteristics of social enterprises. 
With regard to credit unions, there are also a number of regulatory barriers, including 
the Central Bank’s Guidance Note on Investments by Credit Unions (2006), which sets 
out the types of investment products in which credit unions can invest, together with 
the  term  limit  and  maximum  amount  that  can  be  invested.  Notably,  investment  in 

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND58 | Ecosystem

social enterprises do not fall under any of the permitted headings, so it would require 
a change of policy by the Central Bank to allow such socially desirable investments to 
proceed (Brennan, 2012). In early 2016 the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) sought 
to re-engage the State in this debate, announcing its preparedness to provide a fund 
of up to EUR 5 billion through a Government Bond or similar "social purpose vehicle" 
to assist in the development of social housing if sanctioned by the Irish Central Bank.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND5

PERSPECTIVES

The 2019 National Policy has been welcomed as a clear definition of social 
enterprise. The sector is particularly heartened by dedicated government funding/
training/mentoring for growth and sustainability. Perceived barriers include: the 
lack of internal capacity to support growth; complicated bureaucratic funding 
streams; access to banks loans; the lack of legally recognised social enterprise 
characteristics; and access to public procurement opportunities. However, the 
National Procurement Service is progressing a number of initiatives to improve 
social enterprise access to public procurement.

60 | Perspectives

5.1. Overview of the social enterprise debate at the 

national level

Until very recently, there was no clear understanding and definition of social enterprise 
in Ireland. Whilst there had been government initiatives supporting more broadly the 
social economy, a dedicated, comprehensive social enterprise support programme was 
lacking. The 2019 National Policy refers specifically to social enterprises as part of the 
wider social economy. It states that they make a valuable contribution to the social 
and economic progress of the country through jobs creation and the delivery of a broad 
range of services in areas such as homecare, child care, retail, hospitality and catering, 
environment,  and  social  housing.  Social  enterprises  are  innovative,  entrepreneurial 
and  are  increasingly  utilising  new  technologies  and  creative  approaches  to  address 
social,  societal  or  environmental  challenges  (DCRD,  2019:5).  The  policy  has  been 
warmy  welcomed by Irish social enterprises  and  their  representative/support  bodies. 
Social enterprises are particularly heartened by the allocation of dedicated government 
funding/training/mentoring for social enterprise growth and sustainability.

5.2. Constraining factors and opportunities

Some stakeholders consulted for the purpose of this study believe that social enterprises 
often  lack  internal  capacity  to  support  their  growth.  Issues  regarding  corporate 
governance,  business  strategy,  planning,  management  and  marketing  experience, 
HR and management of a diversity of stakeholders including customers, workers and 
volunteers have all been highlighted as factors impacting on the successful start-up 
and development of the sector (Curtis et. al., 2011; O’ Shaughnessy and O’ Hara, 2013; 
Hynes, 2016). More recent studies have also called for an  acknowledgement  of  the 
differentiating characteristics of social enterprise, especially in the areas of financing, 
governance and performance measurement.

Stakeholders  consulted  in  2016  were  critical  of  bureaucratic  funding  streams  and 
lack  of  clarity  between  service  level  agreements  and  government  grants,  with  calls 
being  made  for:  a  simplification  of  funding  frameworks;  a  clearer  definition  of  what 
constitutes  trading  income;  a  distinction  between  "government  grants"  and  "service 
level  agreements";  a  supportive  financial  structure  which  acknowledges  the  multiple 
contribution of the social enterprise sector; the provision of competency training in the 
areas of governance, volunteer recruitment and retention strategies; the encouragement 
of  social  enterprises  operating  in  the  same  service  sectors  to  consider  developing 
formal alliances for the purpose of benefitting from economies of scale; the provision of 

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDPerspectives | 61

business training for social enterprises wishing to scale up and/or compete for statutory 
service  level  agreements/contracts  and  ongoing  research  into  new  mechanisms  for 
financing social enterprise.

Social enterprises often struggle to secure finance from mainstream sources, such as 
banks. Banks may not always understand the social enterprise model and accurately 
price risk (leading to onerous collateral requirements). No data is available to enable 
assessment of the scale of this issue since there are no surveys of social enterprises 
in Ireland that have explored access to finance behaviour. There is, however, a social 
investment infrastructure in Ireland that to some extent fills the gaps in the provision of 
mainstream finance. As noted previously, grants form a key part of social enterprises’ 
income  streams,  and  government  programmes  within  the  social  economy  (SEP  and 
CSP) have made grants widely available (albeit linked to their ability to generate traded 
income in the case of CSP). The extent to which this has fostered a culture of "grant-
dependency" is something that further research needs to explore. Private organisations 
provide  accessible  and  affordable  finance  to  projects  in  the  social  enterprise  sector. 
However, access to appropriate start-up, equity and other capital remains a significant 
challenge. Irish social enterprises rely on state funding for a significant portion of their 
income. The requirements of state funding favour the limited company model but this 
does prevent such social enterprises borrowing from credit unions that may lend to co-
operatives but cannot lend to limited companies.

Whilst  there  are  no  legislative,  regulatory  or  other  rules  specifically  hindering  the 
development of social enterprises in Ireland, Irish law and regulation does not consider 
the  characteristics  of  social  enterprise  and  thus  operates  as  an  indirect  practical 
barrier to the development of social enterprise and true measurement of the sector. It 
should be noted that the consultations undertaken during the preparation of the 2019 
National Policy called for "greater clarity on the current legal structure options for social 
enterprises and social entrepreneurs, along with a call to examine options for bespoke 
legal structures in the longer term for social enterprises".

Social  enterprises  often  face  specific  problems  in  terms  of  their  weak  internal 
capacity. Many have developed from community groups, and may be staffed almost 
entirely  by  volunteers,  or  may  not  have  recruited  staff  to  meet  specific  skills  needs. 
Discussions with social investors highlighted a lack of business and investment skills 
as a key reason for the rejection of loan applications. It was noted that some social 
enterprises do not possess the necessary skills in terms of strategic business planning, 
assessment of markets, awareness and ability to manage risk, etc. Social enterprises 
have traditionally been poor at accessing business support in order to address these 
capacity problems. "Mainstream" business support has not been effective at engaging 
with social enterprises, instead prioritizing more traditional commercial businesses. This 
is ascribed to a lack of understanding of the social enterprise model amongst business 

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND62 | Perspectives

support agencies, and a policy focus on job and profit creation, and exports (which does 
not always favour the social enterprise model, although some social enterprises are 
engaged in the export market). Stakeholders have highlighted a need to enable social 
enterprises to become "investor-read" instead of just "grant-ready" and to be generally 
encouraged/incentivized to produce, trade and generate revenue. Calls are also made 
to focus on the definition of "traded income" and to make a clear distinction between 
"government grants" and "service level contracts".

The  delivery  of  public  services  is  a  key  and  potential  market  for  social  enterprises. 
Research/advocacy  papers  have  stressed  the  need  to  address  barriers  to  public 
procurement  opportunities  if  social  enterprises  in  Ireland  are  to  grow.  Specifically, 
anecdotal  evidence  suggests  that  there  is  not  a  level  playing  field  in  access  to 
public  procurement  markets,  which  means  that  social  enterprises  are  placed  at  a 
disadvantage  in  comparison  with  commercial  enterprises.  One  significant  problem 
for social enterprises is the size of public contracts, which can be very large in value. 
Social enterprises in Ireland are typically small, with very few full-time staff and limited 
capacity to respond to tenders. It is often the case that they are simply unable to meet 
tendering  requirements,  for  instance  insurance  thresholds.  Advocacy  from  within  the 
sector  has  called  for  the  introduction  of  community  benefit  or  social  clauses  within 
public  services  commissioning,  in  order  to  build  in  recognition  of  the  wider  societal 
benefits to contracting with social enterprises. It has also been suggested that public 
contracts could be broken up into smaller units, thus enabling social enterprises to bid.

The  National  Procurement  Service  is  progressing  a  number  of  initiatives  to  improve 
social  enterprise  access  to  public  procurement.  In  2014  the  Office  of  Government 
Procurement  (OGP)  was  established.  This  is  viewed  as  a  key  aspect  of  the  Irish 
Government’s  Public  Service  Reform  agenda  with  an  annual  average  spend  of  8 
billion EUR in four main sectors (Health, Defence, Education and Local Government).17 
Government agencies such as Enterprise Ireland18 have been working with public sector 
organisation  to  promote  awareness  of  potential  of  the  Irish  small  to  medium-sized 
enterprises, including social enterprises, and how they can deliver value to public sector 
contracts.  The  department  advises  SMEs  and  social  enterprises  on  how  to:  identify 
and  qualify  procurement  opportunities,  build  client  capability,  facilitate  buyer/client 
meetings in order to accelerate the procurement process, develop and implement new 
approaches to public sector procurement in collaboration with key stakeholders, identify 
"blocks" to access to the public sector market and implement the appropriate solutions. 
Engagement between public-sector bodies19 SMEs and social enterprises focus on the 

(17)  https://procurement.ie/about-us.
(18)  The  government  agency  responsible  for  supporting  Irish  businesses  in  the  manufacturing  and 

internationally traded services sectors.

(19)  https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/Export-Assistance/Building-Export/Selling-to-the-Public-

Sector-in-Ireland-and-Internationally.html.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDPerspectives | 63

following sectors: construction, health, justice, education, transport, utilities, software 
and  services.  The  potential  opportunity  presented  by  this  is  closer  to  being  realized 
as a result of the Irish government transposing two EU Directives into Irish law on 5 
May 2016. The two Regulations cover public procurement in the public service and in 
the utilities sector and address some of the concerns expressed by the sector to date, 
namely the introduction of new regulations which include: provisions to allow for the 
discretion to divide public contracts into lots, and to allow for particular contracts to be 
reserved for social enterprises under certain conditions.

In the 2019 National Policy on Social Enterprise it was noted that a key part of the 
Irish Governments public procurement agenda recognises that social enterprises may 
often  be  best  placed  to  deliver  certain  types  of  contracts,  for  example,  services  to 
disadvantaged sections of the community. In December 2018, the Office of Government 
Procurement (OGP), the office responsible for public procurement in Ireland, published 
an  Information  Note  on  Incorporating  Social  Considerations  into  Public  Procurement 
in  line  with  the  2014  EU  Procurement  Directives.  The  OGP  has  also  established  a 
Social Considerations Advisory Group to promote and facilitate the inclusion of social 
considerations  in  public  procurement  projects  (DCRD,  2019).  Therefore,  in  order  to 
improve access to markets for social enterprises, the Government has committed to 
supporting capacity-building for social enterprises in relation to procurement processes 
through workshops and training. It has also committed to working with stakeholders to 
identify how to improve opportunities for social enterprises in the business-to-business 
supply-chain and in public procurement (DCRD, 2019:21).

5.3. Trends and future challenges

The most significant challenges for the future growth of the social enterprise sector 
include realising the following objectives:

 > Building awareness of social enterprise.

 > Capacity  building  in  the  sector—e.g.,  develop  business  support  and  mentoring 
models,  ensure  investment  readiness,  include  and  support  social  enterprise 
education in mainstream academic business courses, integrate social enterprises 
in existing work placement programmes.

 > Improve  capacity  for  public  procurement—e.g.,  encourage  collaboration  with 
commercial enterprises, and capacity building within the social enterprise sector 
to engage in competitive tendering processes.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND64 | Perspectives

 > Further development of a supportive financial infrastructure—e.g., expand remit 
of credit unions, research and develop new finance options (impact investment, 
venture  philanthropy,  social  impact  bonds)  and  utilise  applicable  EU  funds  to 
support the development of social enterprise.

 > Development, and implementation, of appropriate systems of social impact and 

performance measurement.

 > Build leadership and governance capacity.

There  are  considerable  gaps  in  our  knowledge  about  the  Irish  social  enterprises, 
including the scale, social impact and overall contribution of the sector to the national 
economy and society in general. Addressing these gaps is an important next step in 
improving our understanding of social enterprise and in assessing its significance, value 
and true potential.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND6

APPENDICES

Appendix 1. The EU operational definition of social enterprise

The following table represents an attempt to operationalise the definition of "social enterprises" based on the Social Business Initiative (SBI) promoted by 
the European Commission.20

Appendices | 67

Initial minimum 
requirements 
(yes or no)

SEs must be 
market-oriented 
(incidence of trading 
should be ideally 
above 25%).

Examples/boundary cases 
comments

 > We suggest that attention is paid 
to the development dynamic of 
SEs (i.e., SEs at an embryonic 
stage of development may rely 
only on volunteers and mainly 
on grants).

Main 
dimension

Entrepreneurial/
economic 
dimension

General definition

Social enterprises (SEs) are 
engaged in the carrying out 
of stable and continuous 
economic activities, and 
hence show the typical 
characteristics that are 
shared by all enterprises.

Relevant Indicators (not exhaustive list)
(yes/no or range from low up to very high)

 > Whether the organisation is or is not incorporated (it 

is included in specific registers).

 > Whether the organisation is or is not autonomous 
(it is or is not controlled by public authorities or 
other for-profit/non-profits) and the degree of such 
autonomy (total or partial).

 > Whether members/owners contribute with risk capital 
(how much) and whether the enterprise relies on paid 
workers.

 > Whether there is an established procedure in case of 

SE bankruptcy.

 > Incidence of income generated by private demand, 
public contracting and grants (incidence over total 
sources of income).

 > Whether and to what extent SEs contribute to 

delivering new products and/or services that are not 
delivered by any other provider.

 > Whether and to what extent SEs contribute to 

developing new processes for producing or delivering 
products and/or services.

(20)  In accordance with Articles 48, 81 and 82 of the Treaty, as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Communities, "an enterprise should be considered to be any 
entity, regardless of its legal form, engaged in economic activities, including in particular entities engaged in a craft activity and other activities on an individual or 
family basis, partnerships or associations regularly engaged in economic activities."

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND68 | Appendices

Main 
dimension

Social 
dimension
(social aim)

General definition

Relevant Indicators (not exhaustive list)
(yes/no or range from low up to very high)

The social dimension is defined 
by the aim and/or products 
delivered. 

 > Whether the explicit social aim is defined at 

statutory/legal level or voluntarily by the SE’s 
members.

 > Whether the product/activity carried out by the SE 
is aimed at promoting the substantial recognition 
of rights enshrined in the national legislation/
constitutions.

 > Whether SE's action has induced changes in 

legislation.

 > Whether the product delivered—while not contributing 

to fulfilling fundamental rights—contributes to 
improving societal wellbeing.

Aim: SEs pursue the explicit 
social aim of serving the 
community or a specific 
group of people that shares a 
specific need. "Social" shall be 
intended in a broad sense so 
as to include the provision of 
cultural, health, educational 
and environmental services. 
By promoting the general-
interest, SEs overcome the 
traditional owner-orientation 
that typically distinguishes 
traditional cooperatives. 

Product: when not specifically 
aimed at facilitating social 
and work integration of 
disadvantaged people, SEs 
must deliver goods/services 
that have a social connotation.

Initial minimum 
requirements 
(yes or no)

Primacy of social 
aim must be clearly 
established by 
national legislations, 
by the statutes 
of SEs or other 
relevant documents.

Examples/boundary cases 
comments

 > The goods/services to be 

supplied may include social and 
community services, services for 
the poor, environmental services 
up to public utilities depending 
on the specific needs emerging 
at the local level.

 > In EU-15 countries (especially 

in Italy, France and the UK) SEs 
have been traditionally engaged 
in the provision of welfare 
services; in new Member States, 
SEs have proved to play a key 
role in the provision of a much 
wider set of general-interest 
services (e.g., from educational 
services to the supply of water).

 > What is conceived to be of 

a meritorial/general-interest 
nature depends on contextual 
specificities. Each national expert 
should provide a definition of 
what "public benefit" means in 
her/his country.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDAppendices | 69

Main 
dimension

Inclusive 
governance-
ownership 
dimension 
(social means)

General definition

Relevant Indicators (not exhaustive list)
(yes/no or range from low up to very high)

Initial minimum 
requirements 
(yes or no)

Examples/boundary cases 
comments

To identify needs and involve 
the stakeholders concerned in 
designing adequate solutions, 
SEs require specific ownership 
structures and governance 
models that are meant to 
enhance to various extents the 
participation of stakeholders 
affected by the enterprise. SEs 
explicitly limit the distribution 
of profits and have an asset 
lock The non-profit distribution 
constraint is meant to ensure 
that the general-interest is 
safeguarded. The non-profit 
distribution constraint can be 
operationalized in different 
ways.

 > Whether SEs are open to the participation and/or 

involvement of new stakeholders.

 > Whether SEs are required by law or do adopt (in 
practice) decision-making processes that allow 
for a well-balanced representation of the various 
interests at play (if yes, through formal membership 
or informal channels that give voice to users and 
workers in special committees).

 > Whether a multi-stakeholder ownership structure is 

imposed by law (e.g., France).

 > Whether SEs are required to adopt social accounting 
procedures by law or they do it in practice without 
being obliged to.

 > Degree of social embeddedness (awareness of the 

local population of the key societal role played by the 
SE versus isolation of the SE).

 > Whether the non-profit distribution constraint is 
applied to owners or to stakeholders other than 
owners (workers and users): whether it is short-term 
(profits cannot/are not distributed or they are capped) 
or long-term (asset lock); or both short and long-term.

 > Whether the cap is regulated externally (by law or 
defined by a regulator) or it is defined by the SE by-
laws.

 > Whether limitations to workers’ and/or managers’ 
remunerations are also imposed (avoid indirect 
distribution of profits).

SEs must ensure 
that the interests 
of relevant stake-
holders are duly 
represented in 
the decision-
making processes 
implemented.

 > Ownership rights and control 
power can be assigned to one 
single category of stakeholders 
(users, workers or donors) or to 
more than one category at a 
time—hence giving ground to 
a multi-stakeholder ownership 
asset.

 > SE can be the result of collective 
dynamics or be created by a 
charismatic leader (in principle 
a sole owner is admitted by 
some national legislations 
provided that the participation of 
stakeholders is enhanced through 
inclusive governance) or public 
agency.

 > Different combinations 

concerning limitations to profit 
distribution envisaged (e.g., most 
successful solution: capped 
dividends supported by total 
asset lock such as Italian social 
coops, CIC, SCICs).

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND70 | Appendices

Appendix 2. Reference list

 > Acheson, E., Harvey, B., Kearney, J. & Williamson, W. (2003) Two Paths, One Purpose: 
Voluntary Action in Ireland, North and South, A Report to the  Royal Irish Academy  
Third Sector Research Programme, Coleraine: Centre for Voluntary Action Studies, 
University of Ulster.

 > Brennan, K. (2012), Finance and social enterprise. In: Doyle, G. and Lalor, T. (Eds.), 

Social Enterprise in Ireland: A People’s Economy? Dublin: Oak Tree Press.

 > Clann  Credo/DKM  Consultants  (2011),  The  Economic  and  Social  Contribution  of 

Clan Credo – the Social Investment Fund. Dublin: Clann Credo.

 > Companies Registration Office (2015), CRO Annual Report 2015. Dublin: Corporate 

Publication.

 > Clarke, A., Eustace, A., (2009), Exploring Social Enterprise in Nine Areas in Ireland, 
Dublin  Employment  Pact,  Clann  Credo,  Ulster  Investment  Trust  and  PLANET: 
Enniscorthy.

 > Curtis, A., O’ Shaughnessy, M. and Ward, M. (2011), An examination of the tensions 
and  challenges  associated  with  operating  as  a  social  enterprise  –  the  case  of 
Irish social enterprises. Published paper in the ECSP series following the 3rd EMES 
International Research Conference on Social Enterprise, "Social Innovation through 
Social Entrepreneurship in Civil Society", Roskilde (Denmark) July 2011.

 > Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (2012). Action Plan for Jobs 2012

 > Department  of  Rural  and  Community  Development  (2019)  National  Social 

Enterprise Policy for Ireland 2019-2022, Dublin: Government of Ireland.

 > Department  of  Rural  and  Community  Development  (DCRD)  and  Social  Finance 
Foundation (SFF) (2018) Social Enterprise in Ireland. Research Report to support 
the  development  of  a  National  Social  Enterprise  Policy,  Dublin:  Government  of 
Ireland.

 > Department of Justice and Equality (2017) A New Way Forward, Social Enterprise 

Strategy 2017-2019, Dublin: Government of Ireland.

 > Doyle,  G  and  Lalor,  T  (2012),  Social  Enterprise  in  Ireland:  A  People’s  Economy? 

Cork: Oak Tree Press.

 > Forfás (July 2013), Social enterprise in Ireland: sectoral opportunities and policy 

issues.

 > Government of Ireland, (2012), Action Plan for Jobs 2012, Government Publications.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDAppendices | 71

 > Hynes,  B.  (2016),  Creating  an  Enabling,  Supportive  Environment  for  the  Social 
Enterprise  sector  in  Ireland.  Report  submitted  to  the  Irish  Local  Development 
Network, Ireland.

 > O Broin, D. (2012), Social enterprise or social entrepreneurship: economic solidarity 
or market hegemony. In: Doyle, G. and Lalor, T. (Eds.), Social Enterprise in Ireland: A 
People’s Economy? pp. 19-28. Cork: Oak Tree Press.

 > O’Shaughnessy, M. (2008), Statutory support and the implications for the employee 
profile  of  rural  based  Irish  Work  Integration  Social  Enterprises  (WISEs),  Social 
Enterprise Journal, July 2008, pp. 126-135.

 > O’ Shaughnessy, M. and O’ Hara, P. (2013), Social Enterprise in Rural Communities, 

National Rural Network of Ireland.

 > PLANET (1997), Building the Social Economy: New Areas of Work, Enterprise and 

Development.  Dublin: Area Development Management.

 > Prizeman, G. and Crossan, D. (2011), Mapping Social Entrepreneurship in Ireland. 

Centre for Nonprofit Management, Trinity College Dublin.

 > Santos, M. (2012), A Positive theory of Social Entrepreneurship, Journal of Business 

Ethics, 111(3): 335-351.

 > RSM,  McClure  Watters  (2012),  Ireland’s  Non  Profit  Sector:  The  Big  Picture.  The 

Wheel: Dublin.

 > SEETF (2012), Unlocking the Potential of Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, 
Annual report of the Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Taskforce, Dublin.

 > SEETF  (2010),  Adding  Value  Delivering  Change:  The  Role  of  Social  Enterprise 
in National Recovery, Report of the Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Task 
Force, Dublin

 > WRC Social and Economic Consultants (2003), Evaluation of the Social Economy 

Programme.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELAND72 | Appendices

Endnotes

1  See: http://www.socialinnovation.ie/social-enterprise-development-fund-2019/.

2  See: https://www.pobal.ie/programmes/dormant-accounts-fund-daf/.

3  See: http://www.probation.ie/EN/PB/WebPages/WP18000018.

Social enterprises and their ecosystems in Europe | Country report IRELANDGetting in touch with the EU | 73

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