244. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the budget and job creation targets for the local enterprise office in County Longford for the years 2011 to 2014, inclusive; the targets for 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8773/15]
View answerThe Local Enterprise Office (LEO) Longford replaced the County Enterprise Board (CEB) for Longford on 15 April 2014 to become the first-stop-shop for micro- and small-enterprise development within the County.
Enterprise Ireland (EI) is responsible for allocating budgets to individual LEOs for both current administration and capital requirements. Details of the budget allocations for LEO Longford for the years from 2011 to 2014 are set out in the table below. The Deputy is asked to note that the Budget allocations for the years from 2012 to 2014 include additional allocations that were made to LEO Longford arising from additional funding that became available from savings within the Department’s Vote during the year. In addition, the allocation to the LEO Longford in 2014 includes funding of €56,000 under the Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur competition (IBYE).
In 2014, enterprises supported by LEO Longford created 206 new jobs (134 full time and 72 other time). However, when job losses among LEO clients are taken into account the net effect was the creation of 75 jobs (74 full time and 1 other time). At the end of 2014, there were 899 persons (680 full time and 219 other time) employed in 222 enterprises supported by Longford LEO.
Formal job creation targets were not a feature of the operation of the CEBs prior to dissolution. However, one of the major elements of the reform of the CEB structure that I implemented was the development of a set of rigorous performance metrics for the LEOs.
The LEO Longford is expected to develop specific targets for these metrics, in conjunction with EI, as part of its annual Local Enterprise Development Plan (LEDP) for 2015. The LEDP for Longford for 2015 is currently being prepared and it is expected that the Plan and associated targets will be available through the local enterprise website at www.localenterprise.ie shortly.
|
Year |
LEO / CEB |
Budget Allocation |
|
2014 |
LEO Longford / Longford CEB |
€647,430 |
|
2013 |
Longford CEB |
€817,636 |
|
2012 |
Longford CEB |
€666,075 |
|
2011 |
Longford CEB |
€605,764 |
