Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 June 2012
7Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for Jobs; Enterprise and Innovation the progress he has made in relation to the abolition of city and county enterprise boards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27523/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra9Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Jobs; Enterprise and Innovation the progress made in merging county enterprise boards and Enterprise Ireland. [27328/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 9 together.
The Government has approved the restructuring of the enterprise supports for the micro and small business sectors with a view to creating an enhanced national enterprise support model. This restructuring will include the creation of a small and micro business division within Enterprise Ireland with a new and enhanced focus on the wider small business sector, and the establishment of local enterprise offices, LEOs, to provide a "one-stop-shop" for small businesses within local authorities.
As agreed by the Government, the county enterprise boards will be dissolved in their current legal format and their functions, assets and liabilities transferred to Enterprise Ireland. Enterprise Ireland is being mandated to work with the local authorities to develop benchmarks for service delivery and enterprise supports, as well as appropriate structures and delivery models for the local offices. In this regard, a detailed formal service level agreement will be put in place between Enterprise Ireland and the local authorities, which will set out how the new enterprise support model will operate in practice. The existing staff of the county enterprise boards will be an integral part of the new arrangements.
There is much detailed work to be done to effect these changes. An implementation working group has been set up under the auspices of my Department to progress the matter. In conjunction with this, my Department is seeking formal advice from the Office of the Attorney General regarding appropriate legislation.
I thank the Minister of State but unfortunately he answered every question but the one I asked. On 7 March, I was told in the Dáil that a steering group was being established to advance the process. Legislation is required to abolish county enterprise boards and set up new structures, and much administrative work must also be done. The work can be done simultaneously.
Currently, county and city enterprise boards, which are doing much vital work in the midst of a significant unemployment crisis, are living under a sword of Damocles, with an element of uncertainty palpable. The people involved know a change is on the way. In order to focus the operation and get it running, I ask on behalf of the people working in county and city enterprise boards if the Minister of State will give some indication of approximately when the new system will be put in place.
As I mentioned in the reply, legislation is required and there is no doubt that will not be published before the summer recess.
That does not take from the mandate enterprise boards currently have. I have been in constant contact and there has been clarification for the CEBs and everyone is clear on the new template that is being introduced. The funding that has been allocated to each board is being used progressively by each county and city enterprise board. This is a major change from 1994 and when the Government has approved the restructuring, there will be a one stop shop facility and the restructuring of services in local government offices will enhance the support services provided to small businesses in each county.
The Government obviously believes this change is vitally important. Surely the Minister must have some idea when it will be able to get through this necessary reform in the context of a huge unemployment crisis?
Will the staff of the new one stop shops consist of the present staff of county enterprise boards and enterprise staff in local authorities? Will there a be a one stop shop in each local authority area? Some local authorities are being merged but there will still be a fair few local authorities. The action plan for jobs indicates there will be.
There will be respect for county boundaries, which is very important. We must get this right. It is vital that all services locally with the involvement of local development offices within the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and Enterprise Ireland cooperate fully to offer a single service and one stop shop facility. The staff of local authorities and enterprise boards will be integrated to give an enhanced service.
I do not want to mislead anyone so when I get clarification of the timeframe from the Attorney General's office, I will pass it on. This is detailed legislation and it is important we get it right. Currently the services offered by enterprise boards are confined and we want to extend the services and incorporate other services that are currently excluded. The remit of the service level agreement being worked out with Enterprise Ireland and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is comprehensive. It is vital we get on with this as quickly as possible and the Government is determined to roll out these support services to every county as quickly as possible.
We spend a lot of time in this House discussing issues like the ESM and the debt where the Government acts like a passive bystander and refuses to do any work but when we come to an issue like county enterprise boards, there is an opportunity for the Government to get stuck in. This whole area has been in flux since Batt O'Keeffe was Minister and suggested the reform. The sword of Damocles has been hanging over the county enterprise boards ever since. This is a vital sector, it is the interface between young entrepreneurs and their ability to see their business come to fruition. Right now there is confusion within the sector. It is important we get a better indication of when this will happen. We need an outline for the individuals working in the boards and for local businesses.
Previously, the Minister of State said local authority workers would be involved in county enterprise board work on top of their own work. How will that happen? What will the budget savings be in 2012, 2013 and 2014? The last time we discussed this in February, the Minister of State said there would be a wider range of Enterprise Ireland programmes for companies with rapid growth potential. What did he mean by that?
We are not in flux in any way, we have been clear since the first day we entered government about the need to establish a county enterprise office in every local authority but we cannot just click our fingers and expect these things to happen. The Government has formally approved the restructuring of the existing micro and small enterprise boards. As a result the CEBs will be dissolved in their current legal format and a new micro-enterprise and small business division has been established within Enterprise Ireland with a new and enhanced focus on the wider small business sector. Enterprise Ireland will work with local authorities to establish a new network of local enterprise offices situated in local authority offices to deliver the support functions currently delivered by CEBs and to be the front door for a more embedded culture of enterprise development across the country. EI will work with local authorities to develop a structure, detailed functions and staffing levels. LEOs will have staffing complements from both CEBs and local authorities. That is agreed. Enterprise Ireland will allocate an annual budget to each relevant local authority to contain competitive elements where some part of the allocation will be subject to a bidding process. On foot of the annual budget allocations to each relevant local authority, a formal service level agreement will be agreed between EI and the local authority to contain performance targets and service standards which must be met to ensure a continuous flow of funds.
I have spoken to county enterprise boards up and down the State and they have no idea what is happening. There have been no operational changes and there is no understanding of the plan of action and how it will be implemented. Will there be a centralised structure for the administration of grants? Will it reduce regional flexibility, which is very important? The Minister of State mentioned the bidding system he wants to introduce. With bidding there will be winners and losers so will certain counties have a reduced level of grant delivery as a result of bidding?
Business people are worried about going into a local authority office and being asked about the household charge, planning levies and service charges. There is a relationship between people and the county enterprise boards that transcends such matters and focuses purely on business while the other elements are left at the door. How will those fears be resolved?
There has always been cooperation between the local authorities and the county enterprise boards and an exchange of staff between them. Generally the county manager has been the chairman of the county enterprise board. In my county, the county enterprise board has been very successful but the value of the boards has never been properly recognised. There are enterprises from my county that are multinational corporations that started out as small enterprises with initial support coming from the former country development boards, as they were then.
The restructuring I advocated when I was in government was that the LEADER programme and the former partnership boards should have been subsumed into the county enterprise boards. Does the Minister of State envisage a substantial proportion of the funding from the county enterprise boards will come from the revenue of the local authorities? That is a concern in rural counties.
Funding will come directly from the voted Estimate of the Department; it will not come from the local authority in any way.
That is the impression people have.
There is no ambiguity about this. This Government understands and respects small companies and will provide services for them. The 200,000 small companies are the backbone of the Irish economy.
If people are fearful of going into the local authority office because they might be requested to pay other charges, I would sincerely hope they will pay the social charges they are supposed to pay. Our job is to support small companies and when we look at the charges levied by local government on business, that is an integral part of running a business.
This is an ideal partnership between local government and Enterprise Ireland. The hub will be enterprise driven by Enterprise Ireland. With regard to the allocation of funding, the added value delivered by enterprise boards through mentoring supports currently means we can save money.
Will bidding make a change in the level of funding received by certain county enterprise boards?
it depends on their plan of action and the level of enterprise within particular counties. We want to ensure the allocation of taxpayer's money goes to the most important person, the employer and potential job creator. The job of Government is to enhance opportunities for people who can create jobs.
