Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 29 February 2012
4Deputy Willie O’Dea asked the Minister for Jobs; Enterprise and Innovation if he has carried out a cost benefit analysis, or an analysis of the effects on jobs and unemployment, of abolishing county and city enterprise boards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11690/12]
View answerMuch work has been done in advance of the decision to restructure and reposition the enterprise support model. The new structure of local enterprise office will build on the significant work done by county enterprise boards, as the Minister, Deputy Bruton, stated, to date. Therefore, the dissolution of county enterprise boards in their current legal format is not an end in itself and will be done in conjunction with the establishment of the creation of a new micro-enterprise and small business unit within Enterprise Ireland that will work with local authorities to establish a local enterprise office in each local authority.
The aim of the proposal is not just about abolition or dissolution, rather it is about developing and enhancing the State services available to small businesses at local level by delivering a one-stop shop and offering a seamless service for small companies to take up the wider range of Enterprise Ireland programmes for companies with rapid growth potential, which we saw in the Mansion House today.
The proposal will also simplify structures and enlist local authorities into more active roles in small business support and local economic development by dealing with the stacked costs of local government such as rates or water charges. It will establish a more integrated network between local and national enterprise supports which will ensure high standards are uniformly delivered and small business development is supported by appropriate benchmarking within Enterprise Ireland.
Immediate expected Exchequer savings will be modest and over a three to five year period will be in the order of €750,000. There will be significant new benefits for the micro sector, which is the most important aspect. The benefits and job potential of the new one stop shop for the small business sector are anticipated over time from the enhanced enterprise support model. There will be a new configuration of services at local level which will be very beneficial.
I thank the Minister of State for his explanation. The jobs plan implies there will be a combination of county enterprise boards, which are already in place, and people from business support units in local authorities. I appreciate what the Minister, Deputy Bruton, said about a steering group. He must have some idea about how the body will look.
For example, there are four people working in Limerick county enterprise board and five working on the business development side of Limerick County Council, but only one is working on enterprise. I am not sure whether the person is working full-time on enterprise, as most of the work is oriented towards community type projects. Will that be the totality of the staff? Will staff have to undergo some sort of retraining? A one stop shop implies that they will be able to get information on IT, export potential, public procurement, accountancy and finance, all in one place. Is that what is envisaged?
A one stop shop will be delivered. It is not rocket science to envisage that there will be supports such as mentoring. We know how effective the county enterprise boards have been to date. They will be working with local development units. The mandate of job creation will be under the Minister, Deputy Bruton, led by Enterprise Ireland.
This will be managed by Enterprise Ireland, working in partnership. We do not need extra staff to deliver the service. Rather, the mindset of all staff and local authorities should be about working together. There is a local development board in every county council and some very fine people are on them. Social enterprise is taking place in every county. Community enterprise is regenerating communities.
Putting all staff together in a one stop shop facility means they can advise, recommend or work with other bodies, such as third level institutions. If people have an idea and want to develop a concept they can go to a front of house facility, whereas until now the county enterprise board structure was very much geared towards manufacturing. We want to develop the range of services available, such as mentoring and accounting, and redirect people to where they can avail of them. It is about recognising the potential and tapping into it. It is a huge opportunity for enterprises in every county to have a one stop shop where they can get advice to develop businesses.
I could not agree more with the Minister of State. It is a wonderful concept. I am trying to ascertain how it will work in practice. He seemed to imply no extra staff will be available. The staff I have spoken to in Limerick told me they would not have the range of expertise to handle such inquiries. I am not referring to county enterprise board staff, rather to those they will presumably join in the local authority. Extra staff or very substantial retraining is required.
When does the Minster of State envisage the new body will be put in place? Will the new local enterprise centres have any power to give grants, equity funding or loans towards the establishment of businesses?
Will it simply be a signposting body advising one to apply to Ennis, Cork or Dublin, for example?
In a letter to Deputy Martin last week on micro-enterprise, the Taoiseach said that under the action plan for jobs, it is proposed to establish a new one-stop-shop micro-enterprise support system. We have all understood micro-enterprise to involve ten or fewer jobs. Will the agency be advising enterprises with between ten and 50 employees, which fall into a gap between Enterprise Ireland and the county enterprise boards? Will its remit extend to them?
On the last point, where there has been a lacuna affecting enterprises with between ten and 50 employees, Enterprise Ireland will have overall responsibility and a mandate regarding the staff employed in local government and the enterprise staff in their new role. They will very much fall under the remit of the Minister, Deputy Bruton.
It is very important that we develop expertise. There is considerable expertise in every county. When the potential in third level colleges and those who are currently working within the enterprise structure is taken into consideration, it will be apparent that these people will still be in the service. People with expertise in local government can tap into the voluntary sector. Under the current structure, people give of their time voluntarily on the county enterprise boards and have been very effective to date in delivering sustainable jobs in small communities. We hope to expand beyond this and offer a host of enhanced services that include companies that were excluded up to now.
With regard to the timeframe, the Minister, Deputy Richard Bruton, will be bringing forward legislation as soon as possible on the dissolution of the enterprise boards and the setting up of the new structure. The Government is determined to roll out the service as quickly as possible. If we are talking about kick-starting the 200,000 small companies which generate €90 billion in the Irish economy, we must take these points on board. Since my appointment, I have been greatly encouraged by the determination of Irish companies, including small businesses with brilliant ideas and which want to commercialise them.
The Deputy referred to expertise. The micro-finance fund will be announced. It will be geared specifically towards those with new ideas to grow jobs. As the Minister stated correctly, this proposal involves a fundamental change in the roll-out of services locally. It involves a big difference of mindset. We are committed to ensuring that people with ideas will be supported in every possible way.
