Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
13. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of jobs created with the assistance of the local enterprise office in counties Kildare, Laois and Offaly in each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42523/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Local Enterprise Offices support over 7,100 companies financially within their portfolio with almost 36,000 associated jobs and a net gain of 3,000 jobs in 2021. They also provide training, mentoring and one-to-one consultancy programmes to thousands of other businesses including the Trading Online Voucher scheme, LEAN for Micro, Green for Micro and the Start Your Own Business programme.
Housed within the 31 Local Authorities, the Local Enterprise Offices are at the very heart of business development and entrepreneurship in towns and communities right across the country. The following table shows the job creation figures in each of the last three years for the Local Enterprise Offices in Kildare, Laois and Offaly. While there were overall positive net gains in jobs in 2019 and 2021, there was a net loss in jobs in 2020 due to challenges presented by COVID-19.
