Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 May 2013
34. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will detail the way he intends to fund LEO’s to ensure that areas with the greatest need for job creation receive the greatest support and resources. [24447/13]
View answerMy vision, and my clear intention in rolling out the new Local Enterprise Office infrastructure, is to ensure that the operating environment in which State support is delivered to the micro and small business sector facilitates and promotes the creation and maintenance of employment across the regions. A key element of this new structure will be the consistent application of policy across all Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) from the evaluation of applications to the spending of budgets allocated. The LEOs will be underpinned by a robust Service Level Agreement (SLA) agreed between Enterprise Ireland (EI) and each Local Authority (LA) which sets out protocols relating to budgets and project evaluation and approval. I published the SLA on Monday last and it is available on my Department’s website at http://www.djei.ie.
Upon the dissolution of the CEBs, exchequer funding will continue to be secured by my Department. The allocation will be delivered by the LEOs within the Local Authority, on my behalf, overseen by Enterprise Ireland. Budgets will be allocated on an annual basis under the existing Measure 1, Measure 2 and administration (pay and non-pay) headings, and the funding will be monitored using the agreed SLA in each Local Authority. The on-going drawdown of budgets by LEOs will be contingent on reaching agreed targets.
Enterprise Ireland, through its Centre of Excellence, will have a key role in enhancing the LEO’s services and supports, and its functions include the development of standardised financial and non-financial support instruments. The highest level of corporate governance will be applied and in order to ensure that LEOs are delivering best practice supports for entrepreneurship, research into international programmes will be carried out in conjunction with the evaluation of programmes run by LEOs.
A series of metrics have been developed in conjunction with the County Enterprise Board Network (CEBN) and the City and County Managers Association (CCMA) and form part of the Framework SLA which I published on Monday last. These metrics will be tailored to suit the particular needs of each LEO, and will be included in a separate local Enterprise Development Plan. This local plan will addresses the development needs of the small and micro-enterprises in each local area.
Over time, the funding allocation and the allocation methodology will be reviewed by my Department and EI to ensure that opportunities for business development and job creation are maximised and that value for money is being secured across the LEOs. Such reviews will be primarily informed by the achievement of targets and performance metrics that meet local needs. It is envisaged that a competitive element to budgetary allocation will be developed and introduced over time.
I am confident that this reform will bring about a new level of engagement and interaction at both national and local level in relation to enterprise support and economic recovery and growth, and will result in an enhanced, more consistent and coherent set of enterprise supports with positive effects in terms of start-up numbers and increased employment.
