A survey has found that entrepreneurial activity in Ireland increased last year compared with 2006, with a significant rise in the number of women setting up businesses.
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report found that 8.2% of the adult population were running businesses, up from 7.4% the previous year.
The figure for women went up from 4.2% to 5.9%. GEM said this figure was much higher than the average in the EU and OECD countries.
The report also found that in 2007 more entrepreneurs focused on consumer-related sectors (44%) and less on areas such as building and manufacturing (21%).
The GEM Report is sponsored by Enterprise Ireland, Forfás and the Gender Equality Division at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
