Vol. 464 No. 1
21 Mr. Kenneally asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment if he has satisfied himself with the amount of funding being made available to the various county enterprise boards in view of the fact that there is an approval limit in each quarter which is restricting the boards capability to support job creation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7272/96]
I am satisfied that the funding currently being provided to all 35 county enterprise boards will enable them to achieve the broad targets set for the initiative in the Operational Programme for Local Urban and Rural Development, 1994-99, under which the boards are supported by EU funding. The planned investment by both the State and the EU under the operational programme for this initiative amounts to over IR£81 million for the period 1995 to 1999.
The level of public expenditure on direct financial assistance to small firms by the county enterprise boards has already exceeded the projections in the operational programme. In total, over £18.5 million has been provided to date in grants by the 35 CEBs since their establishment resulting in the creation of 4,663 full-time and 1,078 part-time jobs by the end of 1995.
Having regard to the need for a balanced programme of grant approval activity to be undertaken by boards throughout the course of the year, I have confirmed the availability of two successive tranches of £90,000 in the form of grant approval ceilings for all county enterprise boards in the first and second quarter of this year. Approval of grants is now a matter of day-to-day responsibility for each CEB. The phasing of the grant assistance they can make available over the course of the calendar year is a sensible means of scheduling their activity and prioritising projects in accordance with their enterprise plans. In this context, the boards were advised, as in previous years, to prioritise projects in accordance with their enterprise plans. A balance must be struck between addressing the pressing claims of projects already on hands and retaining some flexibility to cope with anticipated demand at later stages in the year.
