Vol. 440 No. 3
12 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment whether the terms of reference of the county enterprise boards have taken into account the Culliton recommendation that there should be a move away from grant giving by State-sponsored development agencies.
80 Mr. Harte asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment whether the terms of reference of the county enterprise boards have taken into account the Culliton recommendation that there should be a move away from grant giving by State-sponsored development agencies.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 and 80 together.
The Culliton report highlighted the counter-productive effects of the widespread existence of grants which encourage a hand-out mentality, instead of fostering the market-led and product oriented enterprise which is needed. At the same time, Culliton pointed to the existence of financing gaps for Irish industry, especially the venture capital type.
With a view to getting the county enterprise initiative operational as quickly as possible, the county enterprise boards were established, as an interim measure, on an informal basis. Given this informal status it is not possible for the boards to give loans and take equity in their client firms and they are largely restricted to non-repayable grant aid for the time being.
