Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 November 2012
42. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the way funding will be distributed across the proposed LEO network and the way this will reflect local levels of unemployment and need. [51878/12]
View answerFollowing on from the Government Decision to restructure the existing County and City Enterprise Board network and to establish a new network of Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) within each Local Authority, it is intended that Oireachtas funding will continue to be allocated for local enterprise support under a separate subhead to Enterprise Ireland, who will have responsibility for the distribution of these funds to, and between, the Local Authorities for the Local Enterprise Offices.
It has been agreed that initially the Budget Allocation methodology will remain largely unchanged as regards Measure 1 and Measure 2 allocations. Over time, this allocation and the allocation methodology will be reviewed by my Department and Enterprise Ireland to ensure that opportunities for business development are maximised and that value for money is being secured across the LEO network. Such reviews will in the future be more greatly informed by achievement of targets and performance metrics as well as other relevant factors such as population and local demand.
To this end, Enterprise Ireland is tasked with developing, with Local Authorities, a Service Level Agreement (SLA) detailing policy, operational guidelines and metrics. This will take the form of a single national template, suitably modified to take account of local circumstances. Furthermore, currently each CEB Board is assisted by an Evaluation Committee, which makes recommendations on the most appropriate form, or level, of support for projects. This Committee is usually comprised of local professionals with banking/accounting/business expertise. It is intended that Evaluation Committees along the lines of the existing Committees will continue to operate under the new structure. It is envisaged that these measures will ensure sufficient flexibility in the funding mechanism to allow the LEOs to respond appropriately to local demand.
