Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 October 2006
466 Mr. Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on the operation of county enterprise boards; the success of these boards to date in generating sustainable employment; if some boards have been noticeably more or less successful than others; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34089/06]
View answerThe 35 County and City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) were established nationally in 1993 to provide support for small businesses with 10 employees or fewer. Their function is to develop indigenous enterprise potential and to stimulate economic activity at local level.
The CEBs support the development of micro-enterprises through the provision of both financial and non-financial assistance. Financial assistance is provided in the form of Capital Grants, Feasibility Study Grants and Employment Grants. Non-financial assistance, or soft supports, are provided in the form of business advice and information, management development training, mentoring facilities, E-business training, enterprise education and the promotion of female entrepreneurship. As a result of these activities there is both direct job creation through the provision of financial assistance and indirect job creation through the range of soft supports offered by the CEBs. While these soft supports may not directly generate jobs in an enterprise they can contribute positively to the wider policy objective of building an enterprise culture which, in time, may result in job creation without direct financial assistance from the State.
Over 30,000 net jobs were created in CEB assisted enterprises from 1993 to end 2005 of which nearly 2,000 net new jobs were created in 2005 itself. Given the remit of the CEBs there will be, of course, across the 35 Boards differences in their focus and their interventions but I am confident that the CEBs have been successful at both local and national level.
A fundamental review of the role and functions of the CEBs in the development of micro-enterprises was conducted during 2003/2004 by Fitzpatricks and Associates, Economic Consultants. This review largely endorsed the activities and operations of the CEBs but recommended that, in going forward, CEBs should focus more on economic, rather than social or local development, objectives; that there should be a renewed focus on the core enterprise mission; that the issues of potential deadweight, displacement and duplication should be more systematically and rigorously addressed and that there should be a move away from direct grant aid to repayable finance as well as a greater provision of soft supports as an alternative to grant aid.
The recent Report of the Small Business Forum, which I set up to examine in broad terms the current environment for conducting small business in Ireland, has since endorsed the key recommendations of the Fitzpatricks Report in relation to the future focus of CEB assistance.
My Department is working with the CEBs in relation to the implementation of the Fitzpatricks recommendations in an appropriate manner in order to determine how best the CEBs can refocus their supports and operations in line with those recommendations.
