The small business operational programme, or SBOP, which ran from 1995 to 1999 was Ireland's response to the EU's SME initiative. The initiative was aimed to stimulate small and medium-sized industrial or service enterprises, especially in less developed regions such as Ireland, to adapt to the Single Market and to ensure they could become internationally competitive. The SME initiative was adopted by the Commission on 15 June 1994 and supported by the European Social Fund and the European Regional Development Fund.
The aims of the SBOP mirrored the aims of the SME initiative and were achieved through five principal measures. These were improving small business access to finance and credit; facilitating small business access to public markets; facilitating the adaptation of service firms to the internal market; the activation of a programme of practical research to assist the dissemination of best practice among small business; and the fostering of pilot projects concerned with the improvement of the business environment. Standard provision was made under measure 6 for technical assistance in support of the programme. The Commission granted assistance from the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund. By the end of the programme, a total of 1,570 projects had received EU funding while total programme expenditure amounted to €66.73 million which included EU funding of €26.9 million, Exchequer funding of €13.16 million and private funding of €26.67 million. My Department had ultimate responsibility for all aspects of the SBOP and managed expenditure under the programme. The Department put in place appropriate financial and other controls including those required under the relevant EU regulations.
In accordance with EU requirements, a mid-term review of the programme was carried out in 1997 by the economic consultants Fitzpatricks and Associates. On foot of the review, the consultants made a number of recommendations designed to improve the effectiveness of the programme. The recommendations were taken into account in the subsequent management of the programme. The EU regulations required the production of a final report following the completion of the programme. In this context, my Department prepared a final report which outlined the background to the establishment of the programme, described programme administration and management and provided a detailed report on the implementation of each measure. The report was submitted to the EU Commission in March 2003. The final report reflected the outcome of activities of the Department which were designed to ensure the programme was being properly managed and controlled. These activities included monitoring checks conducted directly by the Department on many of the projects supported, two reviews of systems conducted by the Department's internal audit unit and verification audits conducted on behalf of the Department by Chapman Flood Mazars, a firm of registered auditors. While some deficiencies resulting in the disallowance of some expenditure were identified by these activities, the reviews did not identify any systemic problems with the programme.