I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 58 together.
I assume that the Deputies are referring to the approval of grants from the county enterprise fund, which are approved by the county enterprise boards. County enterprise fund grant applications are, first, examined by the county enterprise officer and then, if suitable, submitted for assessment by the county enterprise board evaluation committee, which advises the board on commercial aspects of the proposal in relation to its decision as to whether to approve assistance. Under the interim arrangements currently in force, pending the establishment of the county enterprise boards as independent bodies, my Department's confirmation is required to validate a grant approved by a county enterprise board.
It is not possible to give a general indication of how long the county-level stages of this process takes, as this will vary from case to case, and to some extent from board to board. A proper evaluation of any project at this level would in any event appear likely to take some weeks. At the level of my Department, except in the small minority of cases where queries arise on an application, I have put in place a procedure which requires that responses normally issue to boards on foot of their county enterprise fund approvals, in the case of small grants, £10,000 or less, within four working days of receipt in my Department and, in the case of larger grants, within ten working days.
Clearly, any system of grant approvals involving the commitment of public moneys requires a certain amount of time for the evaluation of applications received, to ensure that the limited funds available are committed to projects which are viable, and which are consistent with the objectives of the county enterprise fund in promoting enterprise and employment creation at local level. In devising the evaluation structure of the county enterprise boards, I have endeavoured to balance this requirement with the objective of ensuring that the grant approval system operates with the greatest possible speed and simplicity, to the benefit of the small businesses which are the clients of those boards. While some lapse of time in obtaining approvals is inevitable, I, and my Department, are determined that unnecessary delay in the processing of county enterprise fund grant applications is avoided. In this connection, I should point out that the establishment of the boards as independent bodies, in obviating the need for departmental confirmation of individual grant approvals, will remove one minor element of delay in the process.