Vol. 449 No. 1
198 Mr. E. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the discussions, if any, he has had to date with the chief executives of the county enterprise boards with a view to creating full-time or part-time employment for rural publicans and their families in order to alleviate the recent hardships that have arisen in this sector. [3258/95]
I met the chairpersons and acting chief executives of the county enterprise boards on 2 February and availed of the opportunity for an exchange of views on their experience in shaping their enterprise plans and assisting individuals, firms and local communities to foster, establish or expand viable businesses in all sectors of the local economy.
In their first year in operation county enterprise boards have helped to support a wide range of projects relating to rural development. In the case of the services sector, which has already attracted 36 per cent of funding approved by CEBs, boards have been requested to set out specific objectives for enterprise development, particularly where new services can be promoted which will not lead to unfair competition or cause job displacement with existing services.
In some particularly disadvantaged rural areas, CEBs have highlighted the problems posed by declining services. In response to the recommendations of the task force on jobs in services, a number of CEBs have identified in their enterprise plans the need for collaborative action with other local development initiatives to assist local service providers as a means of safeguarding and expanding employment opportunities.While ordinary retail outlets would be unlikely to satisfy the eligibility requirements for grants or financial incentives, other forms of support for business information, advice and management development might be specially tailored to suit the needs of selected rural services. The new operational programme for local development provides scope for county enterprise boards and area partnership companies to develop packages of support for selected rural services which would include demonstration projects and other measures.
